The Ninetyninth Sacrifice
by Trikucian
Summary: The story of how High Summoner Braska, Yuna's father, saved Spira from Sin with the help of Jecht and Auron.


The pilgrimage …

A continent torn asunder.

A world caught in a cycle of death and sorrow.

The people look to others to save them from this horror.

These people are summoners, and the horror is known as _Sin. _Only the brave few stand to fight this horror, and only one can succeed. Anyone can begin the journey, but only the strongest and most selfless can achieve their goal. There are many driving forces behind this pilgrimage, most of all hope to forever end the sadness of _Sin._

Dramatis Personae

**Braska -** summoner in training

**Jecht -** star blitzball player in ancient Zanarkand

**Auron -** young warrior

**Cid -** revolutionary Al-bhed

**Sara -** Cid's younger sister

**Mitsuki -** Cid's wife

**Maester Mika -** leader of the temple of Yevon in Bevelle

**Maester Phate - **old maester distrustful of the teachings of Yevon

**Lord Jyscal -** leader of the Guado

**Niisa -** son of Cid and Mitsuki

**Yuna -** daughter of Braska and Sara

**Tidus - **Jecht's son in the world of the ancient country of Zanarkand

**Rikku - **daughter of Cid and Mitsuki

**Kimarhi - **exiled Ronso

**Wakka & Chappu - **orphaned children in Besaid

**Lulu - **child in Besaid familiar with black magic

**Seymour - **half-human, half-guado crown prince of the Guado

**Aeons/ Fayth - **people and spirits who have pledged their existence to Spira

**Sin - **evil summons creature that returns every ten years to destroy Spira

Timeline

63 B.S. - Yu Yevon, patriarch of the religion of Yevon, is born.

50 B.S.- Jecht, guardian of High Summoner Braska, is born

20 B.S. - Yunalesca, founder of Yevon, is born

17 B.S. - Shuyin, Zanarkand soldier, is born

- Len, songstress and summoner from Bevelle, is born

16 B.S.- Tidus, guardian of High Summoner Yuna, is born

10 B.S. - Jecht disappears from Zanarkand

- Auron appears in Zanarkand to look after Tidus

0 S.A. - Great War between Zanarkand and Bevelle

- Creation of Sin

- Len and Shuyin are executed at the base of Vegnagun

- Tidus and Auron are transported to the year 1000 S.A. by Sin

- Zanarkand is destroyed

- Yu Yevon dies

- Yunalesca founds the religion of Yevon and becomes the first High Summoner

10 S.A. - Sin is reborn and the cycle of Spira begins

30 S.A. - Sin destroys the island cities of Baaj and Besaid

140 S.A. - Luca is destroyed

200 S.A. - The Calm Lands are created through battling Sin

290 S.A. - Al Bhed homeland is destroyed, making the people become nomadic

300 S.A. - The heretical monk Omega is incarcerated off the coast of the

Thunder Plains.

340 S.A. - Kilika is destroyed

510 S.A. - Sin sinks the city of Mi'ihen under the moonflow

- Mushroom Rock is created through battling Sin

517 S.A. - Luca is rebuilt

590 S.A. - Thunder Plains created through battling Sin

680 S.A. - Sin destroys the mountain city of Gagazet

712 S.A. - the Crusaders, a faction determined in destroying Sin, is created

890 S.A. - Sin attempts an attack on Bevelle, but fails

923 S.A. - Maester Phate is born

933 S.A. - an attempt to repopulate the Baaj region fails

- Maester Mika is born

941 S.A. - Lord Jyscal of the Guado is born

952 S.A. - Cid of the Al Bhed is born

955 S.A. - Mitsuki of the Al Bhed is born

957 S.A. - High Summoner Braska is born

960 S.A. - Sara of the Al Bhed is born

965 S.A. - Auron, guardian of High Summoners Braska and Yuna, is born

974 S.A. - Seymour Guado is born

975 S.A. - Kimhari Ronso, guardian of High Summoner Yuna is born

977 S.A. - Wakka, guardian of High Summoner Yuna, is born

978 S.A. - Lulu, guardian of High Summoner Yuna, is born

- Chappu, a Crusader, is born

980 S.A. - Wakka and Chappu lose their parents to Sin

982 S.A. - Niisa, leader of the Gullwings, is born

983 S.A. - High Summoner Yuna is born

- Cid establishes Home for the Al Bhed

984 S.A. - Paine, member of the Gullwings, is born

985 S.A. - Rikku, guardian of High Summoner Yuna, is born

990 S.A - Braska becomes a summoner

- Jecht appears in Bevelle

- Sara dies

- Auron, Jecht, and Braska give their lives to defeating Sin

- Auron is transported to the year 10 B.S. by Sin

- Kimhari travels to Bevelle to take care of Yuna

995 S.A. - Mitsuki dies

998 S.A. - Seymour kills his father Lord Jyscal

1000 S.A. - Tidus and Auron appear at Baaj

- Seymour is killed

- Home is destroyed

- Yunalesca's apparition is destroyed

- Yuna and her group find out the truth behind Sin and destroy Yu Yevon

- Tidus disappears

0 E.C. - The Eternal Calm begins

I

The continent of Spira is a series of islands and archipelagos that have been plagued by an awful force of near indescribable size for almost a thousand years. The name of this force is known to the people of Spira as _Sin_. The name was given to a monster for unspecific reasons at the inception of the actual monster over nine centuries ago. However, unlike the fiends of Spira who are created when a person of weak will dies and their body and heart become corrupted because they have not been sent by a summoner, _Sin _is different. Every ten years _Sin _is revived by some unknown and evil force, and can only be brought down by the final sacrifice of a summoner. Even though many undertake the quest to defeat _Sin_, most summoners do not survive to call forth the final Aeon to defeat _Sin. _This is the story of one such successful quest taken to defeat the evil force known to Spira as _Sin._

***

990 S.A.

A young woman stood inside an unfamiliar temple alongside a young man who was much younger than she. To hide her eyes from the hateful inquiries of those on the street above her she wore darkened glasses. The clothes she wore were loose-fitting, unlike those her people normally wore. The young man she was waiting with knew what she was, but he was one of the few within Spira who didn't care. Scared for her husband in the locked room she stood outside, she asked the young man, "How long do you think he'll be?"

The young man shrugged. He had the oddest way of wearing his coat, with one arm using the jacket, without the sleeve, like an armrest. His arm rested on his belt because the fabric of the jacket allowed the stress of his arm to pull on the fabric of the jacket instead of the belt. "I don't know; I've never done anything like this before."

"Yeah, but," asked the anxious young woman. "You grew up in Mi'ihen, didn't you?"

"And your point is?" he grunted. His voice belied the true age of this young man. Sounding as though he were forty, the young man was actually in his early twenties.

"I grew up with the Al-bhed on the sea, Auron. I know nothing about Yevon. Well, other than it hates us Al-bhed."

"If you're so worried about anyone finding out your true heritage Sara, I'd suggest that you would do yourself good not to say such things. Especially when we're inside Bevelle." Auron was severely frank even when he spoke to a woman who was at least five years older than he.

"Y'know it's really annoying hearing that from someone who has nothing to hide!" she whispered angrily. After a long pause, Sara gave a slight laugh. "Don't you find it odd that Yevon, based here in Bevelle is so opposed to the use of machina, yet even in their own cloister of trials machina is every where to be seen?"

"Shh," he said, nodding his head slightly to the opening within the cloister of trials. "Do you hear something?"

Anxious about the state of her husband, who had been inside the chamber of the faith for almost ten hours, Sara ran up to the entrance. "Braska!" she called, Auron at her heels.

The door to the chamber of the Fayth opened for the first time in hours, releasing from it a whoosh of musty air. Inside the portal stood a man hunched over from exhaustion. His short brown hair was soaked from sweat; his familiar yet worn clothes hanging from his body. In one last ounce of power, he lifted his head up and gave a wide smile. The happiness was pouring from his startling blue eyes. "Finally!" he cried in exasperation, "It worked! I've become a summoner!"

II

980 S.A.

An elderly man stood at the edge of a balcony, his old and gnarled hands holding tightly to the railing. The wind blew hard at this height, and the old man was too proud to be jostled about by it. A young student stood next to him, excited by the proceedings below. Having lived for many decades, under the blessings of the church no less, he had learned the true meaning of what he saw on the streets below him.

"Oh, Maester Phate isn't the parade astounding?" asked the young man beside him excitedly. "It looks like everyone in Bevelle is out on the streets, screaming at the tops of their lungs in happiness!"

"Well, a Calm only comes every ten years," grunted the old man. "After the defeat of that monster, of course."

"You mean Sin, right?" asked the young man in a somber voice.

"Aye, that and many others." The old man spat in indignation. "If only you knew what those summoners and their guardians had to go through on their journey, young Braska, then you wouldn't be so eager to watch the parade."

The young man crossed his arms sourly. "Why do you have to treat me like a child, Maester Phate? I am twenty-three. I understand the perils of the quest." Braska paused for a long moment, staring for a long time at the crowd. "I know I have to die if I want to become a High Summoner. But … I, I can't let any more families be lost."

"Like yours?" questioned Maester Phate, like only a teacher can.

"I have no one to miss me, and no one to miss! And there are so many dead that need to be sent."

"Well, at least no one can blame you for being selfish, that's for sure," chortled Phate. "You know the rules of becoming a summoner, though." Phate turned to face Braska. "You'll need years more of studying to even be allowed into the cloister of trials. And the cloister in Bevelle is the busiest. You may just have to go to one of the other temples to take the test."

Braska shook his head. "The fact that it is so difficult to take the test in Bevelle just means that the best come from here."

Phate scratched his dragon-like wisp of a beard. "Aye, but the last High Summoner, the one they celebrate down there on the streets, was from Kilika. But, I digress. If I were any younger, I'd take the test myself, especially after all I've learned about Yevon. But, you, Braska, you're just the right age. Though, you should enjoy the Calm while it lasts. It won't last forever."

"One day it might," extrapolated Braska with a little enthusiasm.

"Humph, I sincerely doubt that," grunted old Maester Phate as he returned to watching the crowd in celebration.

III

982 S.A.

Braska looked out over the waves with eagerness of one about to set off on a new adventure. For the past two years he had been studying at the temple of Yevon in Bevelle in preparation for becoming a summoner. Maester Phate had suggested, as he did with all of the best students, that Braska go live out in the world amongst the rural people to achieve a deeper understanding of Spira. Phate decided that he go the Kilika; the tropical forest of the volcanic island was an experience that Phate thought that the young man would appreciate to the metal of Bevelle.

No longer did Braska wear the cream colored robes accustomed to students of Yevon-Bevelle, but a much more natural ensemble that allowed him to blend with the people more easily. On his top he wore a black shirt that was tighter than a robe, but not too tight; the sleeves of which he usually pushed up to his elbows. Over the shirt he wore a vest that closed in a similar fashion to the robes he used to wear, but it had no sleeves. It had an embroidered pattern of a fish that he quite liked on the front. The pants he wore were tied off at the knee and had leather stitched on the front of the knee and the backside as a buffer. Braska suspected the pants were made for riding chocobos. He wore simple sandals that stayed in place with velcro.

Being from the temple of Yevon-Bevelle, which was situated almost a hundred feet above sea level, Braska hadn't many chances to smell the sea. Now that he was on a boat, he almost gulped the pleasant smell on the wind in. He didn't even mind the odd stares he was receiving from passersby.

"All aboard!" called a burly man with dark skin at the ramp that connected the boat to the dock. Few more passengers had to board, but Braska watched them with slight interest. He found his curiosity paid off when a stunningly beautiful woman was the last person to run onto the ship. The burly man asked her if she had any one else behind her, but she shook her head.

As the young woman gathered herself and her bags, the boat started off from the dock. Braska found himself blushing when the sudden jolt almost knocked himself off his feet, while the woman barely budged. Braska saw her smile when the burly man yelled, "Nacao! Don't do that again! We don't need to sink the ship before we go!"

A voice from inside the cabin came back, yelling, "It's not my fault! We're going completely straight!"

The burly man sighed and turned to the young woman. "Sorry for the inconvenience, miss."

"That's quite alright," she smiled, her voice like a flute. Braska felt his knees quiver when she spoke.

When the burly man went about his duties, the woman resigned herself to leaning on the railing. Braska, leaning on the same railing a few feet down from the woman, began to study her appearance. She was nothing like he had ever seen. Everything she wore seemed to be for a practical function, however little there was of it. On her chest she wore a triangle top of heavy white fabric, the type the sails are made of. On her shoulders rested a huge vest with deep pockets large enough to hold any assortments of knives and tools, and probably did. Very low on her hips rested a large pair of pants that had been cut off below the knee and allowed to fray for what looked like a long time. On her hands she wore black mesh gloves, and on her feet she wore leather shoes with white socks. A large bag made from the same fabric her triangle top was, but much dirtier, slung precariously over her shoulder.

Though what struck Braska as the most memorable about her was her face. Like the rest of the skin on her body, her face was deeply freckled, then tanned wherever the freckles didn't reach. She had the skin of a person who has undoubtedly spent much of her like out on the sea. Her hair, which may have one time in her life been brown, had been bleached blonde by the sun. The way in which her lips were chapped, and the fact that she didn't take any measure like other women would have to alleviate them being chapped, intrigued Braska. This woman obviously had many things to fill up her time if she was so ignorant of any womanly make up techniques. Though, on her eyes, she wore perfectly round darkened glasses that were just big enough to cover her eye. _Understandable_, Braska thought, for a sea voyage. He found himself wishing he had enough prescience of mind to bring his own glasses, as well as that she would take them off.

Seeing as they would be on this boat together, as well as with many other passengers and crew members for the next few weeks, Braska decided to say hello to her. He did this mostly to be friendly, but also to make her notice him before she noticed any other men on the ship. Unlike in his teenage days, Braska did not feel as awkward when speaking to women, experience, or lack thereof, not withstanding.

Pushing himself away from the railing, Braska walked over to the intriguing woman. As he came towards her, she inclined her head to look at him. "Hi, I'm Braska," he said, holding his hand out.

The woman paused before she took his hand. Braska felt anxious when she paused, fearful that she would tell him to go away. "Sara," she said after the pause. She gave Braska a good, firm shake, which he wasn't quite expecting from a woman.

"So, are you from Bevelle?" Braska leaned forward on the railing beside her, watching Bevelle shrink into the distance.

"Nope," she grunted, positioning herself the same way as Braska, with her arms resting on the rails. "I'm glad to be rid of it quite frankly."

"Why?" asked Braska, turning his head to look at her. He loved how she tied her thick blonde hair up in a very messy pony tail, random braids sticking out here and there. She looked positively like a pirate.

When she spoke again, it dawned on Braska that this woman could be dangerous. Before the last Sin, Braska would have avoided a woman like this. But, now that he has resigned himself for a death he could predict in eight years, he wanted to enjoy every adventure thrown his way. "I hate all of the Yevon freaks here. The whole place is teeming with self righteousness. I'm tired of all the 'I'm so much holier than thou' bull."

Braska gulped in some air when he heard her bash his people. Though, he did find that some people like Maester Mika greatly resembled her vision of people from Bevelle. "That's a pretty angry response."

"Well, you'd be angry too if you had to … let's talk about something else. Where are you from?"

Braska scratched the back of his neck and shyly pointed at the fading Bevelle in the distance.

The woman laughed and slapped him on the back. "Hey, it's not like everyone from a place are idiots just because the rest of them are. So, what are you going to Kilika for?"

"Um," Braska paused, not wanting to sound like he was going because of Yevon, even though he was. "I'm, uh, studying there, because of all of the volcanic activity."

"Huh, sounds dangerous. You should hire some help or something if you're going to do that."

"Why?" Braska was confused by her response.

"Well, I don't know from first hand experience, but fiends should be running around in the forests there. You should hire someone to fight them for you, y'know?"

"Unfortunately," smiled Braska, "I'm just a lowly student, and I don't have any money."

"Wow," she said, looking into the distance of blue sea. "I've never met a student before. It's always been sailors with me."

"Yeah, I expected as much."

"Now, what is that supposed to mean, smart boy?" she asked, her hands firmly placed on her hips.

"I didn't mean anything derogatory by that. I've just noticed that you have very good sea legs and that your skin is much tanned and your hair is sun bleached. All of these physical descriptors would allow me to surmise that you, yourself are a sailor."

"Hmm," she murmured, and ruffled the already messy brown hair on Braska's head. "Nice observations. My bro would like you. We should stick together!" Then, in a whisper, she added, "Leave all of the rest of the rabble on this ship to their own devices."

Braska nodded with a smile in response to her heartily laugh, and looked off into the distance. He felt that this woman could easily become someone special in his life, despite every one of her vices.

IV

982 S.A.

Braska awoke late in the night to a sharp rapping at his door. Pulling his vest over

His bare chest, he opened the door. After two weeks or so at sea, he became accustomed to the rocking of the boat enough that he could read for hours on end without ever feeling motion sickness. Though, much of his time was spent with the ever mysterious Sara, talking on deck.

Sara was at the door, only her low riding shorts and triangle top on. To Braska's astonishment, she did not shiver in the cold night air, made even colder by the wind coming off of the sea. "Sara, what is the matter?" he asked, looking her over as she stood in the cramped hall of the ship.

Shaking her head, she took his hand. "Would you like you to come with me?"

Feeling the blood rise in his face, Braska nodded, "Okay," he said before she yanked him through the door.

Quietly, as so not to disturb the other passengers, Sara led him out of the hold and onto the deck. The night shift pilot was at the helm, and a flashlight up in the crow's nest indicated that the look out was up there too. Holding his hand tightly, she walked swiftly to the back of the ship, where no one would see them.

Looking up at the very large moon, Braska asked, "What time is it?"

"About two in the morning." Letting go of Braska's hand, Sara drooped to the deck and lay down on her back. With her hand she beckoned Braska to lie down next to her. "Just look at all those stars," she breathed, barely audible.

Braska found her tone of voice beautifully mystical. She was right about the sky; he had never seen so many stars in his life. "I never realized how much you could see in the dead of night."

"You can never see this much in the city: too much pollution from all of the fake light." With her left hand, she grasped Braska's right.

After long moments of star gazing, Braska asked, "Did you bring me out here just to look at the stars?"

"No," she whispered. With her other hand she covered her forehead as though it hurt. "I had a bad dream, the kind where your life falls apart around you."

Braska sat up, still holding her hand. He looked at her with a strange feeling in the pit of his throat. "What was the dream like?"

"My brother left me behind when we were supposed to do a job together, and I was arrested."

"Don't worry," he said, draping his hand slowly over her belly. He could feel all of the sharply prickled hairs indicating she was colder than she let on.

Sitting up abruptly, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked as though she were going to cry. "Hold me," she whispered quietly, not looking up.

Glad to comply, Braska draped his arms around her. He felt that the warmth from both of their bodies was making them both feel warmer in the cold night air. Lying down to position himself more comfortably, Sara lay her head on his chest. Braska laughed inwardly at the tickle of her hair on his bare chest.

Many long moments ensued with them watching the stars together, in each other's arms. Then, in a move that Braska welcomed but hadn't anticipated, Sara placed her right hand on his cheek and kissed him gently. Upon releasing each other from the kiss, Braska looked intently into her eyes. Just from looking deeply into her eyes he could feel himself falling in love with her. She had beautiful, startling green eyes … with spiral pupils.

"Hmm," he smiled, realizing the irony. "You're an Al Bhed."

She tucked her right hand in under her body, but still on top of Braska's bare chest. Pushing back her fringe of hair with her other hand, she asked, "Is there anything wrong with that?"

Placing one of his hands on the nape of her neck, he craned his neck to kiss her again. To ease the strain on his neck, Sara pushed her body forward. "Other than," he added when they stopped, "I'm student of Yevon."

Sara dropped her head to Braska's chest and began to laugh quietly. "What a perfect pair we are."

Sitting up, with Sara in his arms, Braska said, "Let's go back to my cabin."

"Hey, I'm not that type of girl," she said, standing straight.

Blushing at her insinuation, Braska stood up too. "Me neither. I meant that my cabin would be a lot more comfortable."

"Okay," she said, stretching out her hand. "You've convinced me, just as long as you don't do anything ungentlemanly."

"Don't worry," Braska said as they made their way off of the deck. "Wouldn't dream of it."

***

A very muscular Al Bhed with blonde hair cut very close to his head stood at the helm of his ship. All of the lights were snuffed because they were sneaking up on a passenger ship they were about to raid. Determined that this raid go as swiftly as possible because his pregnant wife was on board, he even sent his sister as a scout on the boat they were about to raid.

"Juka, you better be right about the state rooms on this rig," the muscular man snapped at his first mate, standing behind him.

"C'mon, Cid, have I ever let you down yet?" shrugged the older man with a ponytail of graying hair and a short beard.

Cid smiled and scratched his chin. "Aye, ye did, once or twice. But I never had two capable ladies working with me those times. Isn't that right honey?"

A five-month pregnant woman with long, heavy, blonde dredge-locks adorning her head came up from below deck, a rifle slung over her shoulder. "Sorry," she smiled, "Blasted runt inside me really likes to push against my bladder. Had to do my business before I could help you guys, of course." Mitsuki, Cid's wife, having lived among men her entire life on Al Bhed boats, was used to talking to men in a crude manner. And, when it came to Mitsuki, the men were used to the way she spoke. Most of them were sure that she had a fouler mouth than her husband, and a worse temper.

"Now, remember Mitsuki," said Cid, "You're not to kill anyone or get off this boat. Is that clear?"

"_Yes Captain_," she drawled out for effect. Even though he was her husband, he was still her captain first and foremost. Well, during the more important parts of the voyage any way.

"Oh, you know it's just because I love you I say such things," cooed Cid. He gave her an affectionate kiss then prepared to jump off the boat on to the other, now only about a meter away. On the backs of one of the crew members also jumping off was a heavy chain that would link the two boats together by where they would normally link to docks.

Just before he jumped Mitsuki whispered, "Come back soon, boys." For emphasis she winked at Cid.

***

A large jolt awoke Sara from her sleep. Almost having forgotten the events of the last few hours, she was confused at her location. Then, in an instant she remembered her obligations that night she had conveniently forgotten when she had gone back to Braska's room. Nothing happened, nor did Braska indicate that he wanted any more to happen that night than what had already occurred. Mostly what drew Sara to Braska after she heard he was a follower of Yevon was that he was also a student, and students of the temple usually had higher morals than most men. Then again, most had also sworn their lives to celibacy. But, Braska seemed too young to her to make such a life determinate decision already.

"Oh God!" she cried and leapt form the bed.

"What's the matter?" asked a very startled Braska who had been abruptly awoken from a deep sleep.

"Get everything you own together, right now!" she shouted and then disappeared to her room down the hall.

Drowsy at the early hour, and feeling sick because of it, Braska almost didn't comply. Though, he felt that anything an Al Bhed would start up at in the middle of the night on the ocean was something to worry about. Jumping out of bed, he threw on his pants and tied his black shirt hastily around his waist. Everything he owned was sprawled on the desk so he threw it into his back pack, nonchalant about whether his papers or books would fold. Slipping his feet into his shoes and slinging the strap of his back pack over his shoulder, he ran down the hall to find Sara in her room.

When he found her she had everything on her just as he had, but her vest was zipped up in the front and her tinted glasses were sitting atop the bridge of her nose. "By Yevon Sara, what is it?"

She grabbed Braska's hand and ran out with him to the deck. The scene on the deck was one of the most frightening Braska had seen in his life. There were men everywhere wearing the trademark goggles of the Al Bhed with guns or knives or bludgeons in their hands. At this point they were gathering up the passengers and crew members, most of them in their bedclothes without weapons. Any who had acted up were knocked unconscious and tied to the rail.

Suddenly, a very overbearing man with a severely short military cropped head of hair and a broad unclothed chest came directly for Sara and him. Braska was sure that he was going to grab him and throw him in with the other passengers, but he just came up to Sara and looked intently down at her. _"Pep oui velina uid frana dra tacd muud ec?" _he asked her in the language of the Al Bhed that was unfamiliar to Braska.

Sara looked straight back up at the older man with the military overbearing and replied loudly, _"Uv kuinca! Fryd pu oui druhg U'ja taah puing vun dra bycd drnaa faagc."_

The man then looked Braska up and down, taking particular notice in the fact that the woman was holding his hand. Then, he gave Braska a smile that he never would have expected from a man he thought only moments ago was going to throw him about. Clapping Braska hard on the shoulder, he said, _"Cu oui so meddma cusdan'c haf bad!"_

_"Hu ra'c hud, cdibep pnudran," _she replied indignantly, hitting the man on his bare shoulder. He only laughed and playfully cupped his shoulder that had just been hit.

_"Mad'c lu," _he said, beckoning his hand out to Sara. Sara led the way deeper into the ship, Braska in tow. The Al Bhed that was speaking to Sara had called for some of the others to follow. Before long, they were in the captain's quarters. All over the walls were shelves with locks on them.

"The safety deposit boxes," breathed Braska in wonder. "How are you going to get them all out?"

In response, almost all of the Al Bhed men on the raiding team took out some type of crow bar. The largest, the one Sara was talking to handed them both crowbars. For Braska's convenience, the man said, "Pry open the boxes. If my Sara likes you, then you gotta come with us. And, if you're to come with us, then you gotta pull your own weight."

When the man went to his own work, Braska asked Sara in a whisper, "What does he mean by, 'his Sara?'" Braska felt a pang of guilt as the box he was working on clanged to his feet. An Al Bhed held out a sack and Braska threw the valuables and paper within the box into it.

"We've only known each other for a few weeks and you're already getting jealous over me?" giggled Sara quietly.

"Sometimes," grunted Braska, pulling a badly locked box a little out of position, "In dire times like ours, a few weeks is all anybody needs. You never know when you could lose the people you love."

Sara dumped the contents of a box into a sack. "So, that's your story, is it? You lost your family? When?"

Braska pulled the rusty box completely loose. Unfortunately, all that was inside was an old locket. Pocketing the nearly valueless item, Braska replied, "During Sin's last reign. My whole life was destroyed. I hated Sin so much after that, and that's why I joined Yevon."

"Why didn't you join the Crusaders? They are always trying to destroy Sin and fiends." Sara pulled out a box positively stuffed with silk scarves.

"Anyone who lives in Bevelle knows that they are just a bunch of no bodies that need to blow off some steam. Sin can't be defeated through physical means, and the current means are only temporary." Braska forced another box out with a huge amount of force that welled up from the anger he was feeling. "I was going to undergo the trials in eight years, but I may not if I have a reason to live."

"Hm," murmured Sara, seeing that the place was becoming messier and messier as the walls were being stripped bare. "That's pretty depressing."

"Hey, but you're an Al Bhed," he said very quietly so the others wouldn't hear him. "Your life has to suck a bit too."

"Aye," she giggled, "That it does."

Gathering up one of the sacks, the man with the military haircut and the large muscles said, _"Ymnelrd! Fa'na mayjuhl!"_

"What was that?" asked Braska, securing his back pack to his back more securely.

Sara picked up her bag and followed the Al Bhed men out the door. "We're going back to the Al Bhed ship," she said, when Braska caught up to her.

"Really?" asked Braska, "What about the people on this boat?"

"Don't worry," added Sara, leading Braska to the back of the ship, "They'll be fine. We left them plenty of food, and the pilots will be okay to get the ship to Kilika."

"Oh, well, I was hoping for an adventure," said Braska, "And it looks like I'm involved in one that won't stop any time soon."

V

982 S.A.

Braska felt very awkward on the Al Bhed boat. Sara was standing next to him, but there were countless eyes on him, made countless mostly because most of the eyes were shod with goggles of some type. The worst part of the experience was the knowledge that these people could understand everything he said while he could understand nothing they said when they so chose. He waited for Sara to say something.

For Braska's benefit, Sara spoke in the continental tongue. "What are you all gawking at?"

One leaning on the ship's railing answered, _"Ra'c yh uidcepan."_

"Who cares?" yelled Sara. "Maybe people would stop treating us like we're less than human if we stopped treating them as such! Argh! I have to go talk to Cid!" Grabbing Braska's hand, she walked down the deck of the much smaller ship that was going very fast to outrun any authorities that may have come to the passenger ship's rescue.

"Who's Cid?" asked Braska once they stopped.

Before Sara could answer, the same large man with the military haircut burst out of the bridge. A shorter woman with a swollen belly came out after him. "Sara, so will you finally introduce me to this young man of yours?" he asked in jubilation.

"This is Braska," said Sara. Turning her head to face Braska, Sara added, "Braska, this is my family, Cid and Mitsuki."

"Oh, hello, um, Cid," smiled Braska, shaking his hand. "I'd like to say that your daughter is a wonderful woman."

Both Cid and Mitsuki laughed heartily. Braska felt his face grow hot when Sara joined in with the laughing. "Cid," said Sara, "Is my older brother by eight years."

"Oh," said Braska, bowing to Cid, "My sincerest apologies."

Cid laughed and looked at Mitsuki. "Do I really look that old?"

Mitsuki kissed him lightly on the mouth and held his arm. "Nah, but who cares how old you look? I don't, and I'm the woman who shares your bed."

"A.k.a. his wife," included Sara. "A point they frequently forget to mention to make themselves look like a truly despicable couple."

"You just wait, Sara," added Mitsuki. "When you get married to someone you not only love but can also live with you'll forget that you're married and you'll be family."

Sara inadvertently gave a blushed glance to Braska. The glance right after Mitsuki's words made Braska feel like he was purple to his hairline.

"Oh, honey," cooed Mitsuki, placing Cid's arms around her shoulders. "Aren't you glad we're past the awkward phase?"

Cid gave his wife a loving kiss and added, "Yes, the comfortable parts are better."

"Yeah," hummed Mitsuki. "And then there's the kid part; the part that makes me look like a cactuar that's just been thrown in a puddle."

"Oh, honey," he said, rubbing her belly, "You're half as big as a cactuar filled with water, but twice as prickly."

In response to her husband's snide comment, she gave him a sound slap on the shoulder. Like many of the Al Bhed in the summer Cid wore cargo pants with suspenders and no shirt on underneath. A large red mark enveloped his shoulder.

"Aw, Mitsuki, that hurt," he yawned. "Geez, what time is it?"

"About four," said Sara, getting her estimate on a setting moon. "You two should really get to bed."

"As should you," said Cid, leading his wife into the captain's state room. "There's room in the hold with the grunts," he called from inside his cabin, which had an external door.

"So," smiled Braska tiredly. "What does that mean?"

"That was in continental and you still didn't understand it?"

"Where did he tell us to go?" Braska sighed almost impatiently.

"Oh," said Sara in understanding. "The hold is in the bottom of the ship. There should be some hammocks we can sling up easily down there."

Braska was then led on a path through the extensively machina ship of the Al Bhed. All of the parts were run by steam when it wasn't windy, like at the moment, and the rest was operated by wind when they let the sails out. The entire outside of the ship was covered in lights in various places, which were turned off because of their raiding mission. The glow lights on the inside of the ship were alight though because the crew would bump into each other otherwise.

After descending a cramped staircase and tramping across a catwalk over some boilers Braska and Sara made it to what Cid had called a hold. Inside this room many bodies were hanging from the ceiling in large canvas hammocks. They hung low, but from the ceiling nonetheless. Braska did not look forward to the prospect of sleeping in such close quarters to people he had never met before, let alone not speaking their language.

"Um, Sara, you know this ship well. Could you find us a more comfortable place to sleep?" Braska searched around the room, looking for some kind of alcove.

"Oh, sure," said Sara, taking his hand reassuringly again. "Here, just follow me." Leading him to the corner of the room, Braska noticed a ladder to their left. "This is my special little area. I don't get a room because Cid says he doesn't want to favor me too much. But he let me have this when I found it."

As she began to climb up the ladder, Braska joined her. "It's barely enough for two people, but it should do." The area was a small loft at best with random slips of paper adorning the wall and little pieces of what Braska thought at first were junk. The little pieces of junk actually looked to have a purpose on further inspection, but for what Braska couldn't guess. "You're the first person I've shown this place to."

"This is your room, your home, isn't it Sara?" Braska lied down on a soft bedspread after he distributed his back pack in the corner. When he lied down he left all of his clothes on because he didn't know when he had to get up next.

Sara curled up into a little ball next to him. "Yeah, it's all mine. Kind of pathetic, don't you think?"

"Nah, I think it's very comfortable." Braska shuddered at the sheltered life he had lived at the temple. "A thousand times better than the blinding white at the temple. Please promise me you'll never make me go back."

"So what, you going to become an Al Bhed now?" giggled Sara, falling to sleep.

"Your brother and his wife sure seem to think so," badgered Braska, poking her with his elbow.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," yawned Sara.

"Don't be," said Braska. "It felt good to be noticed for once. And, the prospect of being with you does seem like it would be the nice kind of comfortable your brother and his wife have."

Sara didn't respond to Braska's last remark. Taking it at though she had fallen asleep, Braska let his eyes close heavily. Next to him Sara stayed awake until daybreak contemplating her future. With or without Braska, an outsider she had only just met, she couldn't decide right now.

***

Braska was woken up in a fashion he found to be most abrupt. Opening his groggy eyes he found before him an unfamiliar and fuzzy environment. He was alone in the loft, and dirty yellow light was flooding the space from behind his head. A pile of rope on his belly was what had woken him up. Grabbing the rope, he stuck his head over the edge. Below the edge an Al Bhed man he couldn't recognize, not only for his goggles, yelled up, _"Lad pufh rana! Cid fyhd'c oui!"_

Unable to understand Al Bhed, Braska was at a loss for what the man wanted him to do. "Cid?" he called down, using the only word he understood in the whole sentence.

Shaking his head, the man said slowly, stumbling over the words, _"Come down Yevon! Go to Cid!"_

Scratching his head, Braska climbed down the ladder that lead up to the loft, the rope still in his hand. Offering it to the Al Bhed, the man shook his head. He said, _"Sara," _and pointed Braska in the right direction. Fearing he would get lost, Braska always went in the direction that went up. After minutes of walking along and up metal, Braska found the door out of the hold. The height of the sun surprised him when he stepped outside. The sun was a deep orange and was sparkling over the eerily calm water.

"Whoa," exclaimed Braska, not caring that others might hear. "How long have I been asleep for?"

His self directed question was answered by a woman's voice. "About fifteen hours." The voice came form Cid's wife, Mitsuki. Her voice had a slight accent and was gruff with the slang of those who live on the sea their entire lives. "Why were you so tired?"

"I had a very long night last night," he said, looking out on the eerie seas. "And a very hectic one. I needed the rest."

"Ah," cooed Mitsuki, "I guess Cid isn't being too harsh then. I'll have to tell him the confession you've just told me."

"What! What are you talking about?"

Mitsuki cocked her head in the direction of the captain's cabin. "You do you think they're yelling about in there?"

"Who, me? But I, I mean we, we didn't do anything!" stammered Braska, hopping by Mitsuki and into the cabin. Even before he opened the door he could here the two raised voices. Shoving the door open, he found Cid berating Sara.

"Don't think you can get away with that under my nose kid!" shouted Cid, pointing his finger down at Sara.

"Get away with what? We've been over this! I didn't do anything!"

Cid's face was red with anger. "You took him up to your loft! Ten of the crewmen saw you do it!"

"Yes," said Sara, "But we only slept! We didn't even touch each other all night!"

"How do I know you two didn't do anything on the ship?" yelled Cid.

"Oh, c'mon brother!" Sara argued. "Braska's like a kid! I don't think he's ever been with a woman before! You should hear him talk about relationships. He's worse than a woman."

Severely crest-fallen, Braska added in at that moment, "I thought I was just being chivalrous and kind. But I guess that's not what you want Sara." Dropping the rope on the floor, he stepped quietly out the door with his head down.

Surprised and embarrassed at what she had said about the only man who saw her for a person and not just a body, Sara punched her brother. "Look what you made me do you big oaf."

"If he reacted like that," chuckled Cid, "Just guess what he'd be like when he finds out you ain't a virgin!"

"Not like you're any better," snapped Sara, running out the door.

Finding her sister-in-law just outside the door, Sara asked her, "Did you see where he went?"

"You better be nice to this one Sara," consoled Mitsuki. "He's special. He seems like he needs love and he's not afraid to show it. That's a rare quality in a man."

"I don't need this speech from you. Just tell me where he is."

"Back of the boat. He doesn't look like he's going to jump. Well, not yet at least."

Leaving her sister-in-law at the cabin door, Sara walked up slowly to the nose. Braska was watching the waves intently and did not turn when she came near. Placing her hand on his back she shrank away when he shrugged it off.

"So, is that all you think of me? Am I a woman to you?" He turned around and looked down at her severely. In the dark orange light of the sunset Sara had a huge impression of Braska's height against her own. "Do you belittle me because I have had more self control than you do? Because I did what I believe was right and kept my body for the one woman I would spend my life with?"

Sara turned around and felt the need to zip up the front of her vest. Against this man she felt weak and dirty. She desperately wanted to jump out of her skin. This man reminded her of all of the things about herself that she didn't like. "I'm sorry if I made you seem any less important than you are. I'm just so afraid of how you are. You have an inner power and control that I could never fathom. You make me feel inferior, so I needed to … to make you seem less than what you really are." Falling to her knees she held her face in her hands and wept.

His anger having subsided, Braska bent down and enveloped her with his long arms. "What are you so afraid of that you cry so sadly?"

"I don't want to be alone. Every other man I've met other than Cid has been only interested in one thing. I'm always blind enough to think that they love me, but they never did. I didn't want to get hurt again." Turning her head so that she could see Braska's face, she said, "I just want to be with a man I can love; a man who will love me for me and stay with me because we could have a life together. I need a life, not the scraps of ones I've been living on so far. Can you give me that?"

Braska, feeling tears well up in his eyes, embraced her tightly, and whispered, "I can try. I promise you that I'll never stop loving you or leave because of you. I want to be with you Sara. I don't need forever or until the ends of our lives. Just a moment, and then the next and hope we'll always cling to each other in these dire times."

VI

982 S.A.

"That's a pretty bad storm coming," reported Cid, looking out of the window of his bridge. A few months had past since Braska had first joined the Al Bhed aboard Cid's ship. Whenever Braska asked what the name of the ship was Cid would reply that Al Bhed ships change so much that there's no point in naming them. The original name of the ship had long since been eroded by years of sea water erosion. Whenever they docked the only letter that Braska could make out was a 'K'.

"How bad is it?" asked Braska, looking out over the ocean from over Cid's shoulder.

Cid began rifling through piles of maps on his desk. "We have to land. Mitsuki could go into labor any day now, and I don't want to be stuck in the middle of a storm during that."

Stepping just outside the door, Braska asked Sara, who had just passed by, "Go ask the guy in the crow's nest if there are any islands near by."

Sighing in annoyance, she placed the coil of rope she was mending on a bench and ran over to the main mast. After calling him, and then hearing the reply, she answered Braska in a heavy breath, "Yes, to the west of us."

Cid, having over heard, took hold of the wheel and turned it due west. "Sara," he called from his post, "Go see how Mitsuki is doing."

"See what, her making more baby clothes?" interjected Sara.

"Just do it!" snapped Cid.

"Fine," she sighed, turning around out of the bridge. The captain's cabin was on the deck, like the bridge, but it was at the back of the boat.

"Cid, she's not in labor yet. And that is a day long process." Braska stood behind the brother of the woman he newly loved. In the past few months of always eating and spending his days with this man in the bridge he felt a connection with him like he hadn't since he was back at the temple. To Braska, Cid was another mentor, a man who helped him through life, even if only subconsciously. The fact that Cid was only five years older than him had no impact on his feelings whatsoever.

"Yeah, but if she were in labor she … she's so stubborn that she'd never tell anyone." Cid wiped a tear of fear from his face roughly with his gloved hand. "Childbirth is dangerous, especially for first time mothers. She could die because she's stubborn. I can't have that."

Braska took hold of the wheel so that Cid could wipe more tears from his cheeks. "You should be with her, not your sister. I'll hold the wheel until she comes back and can steer."

His eyes red and his lids puffy, Cid gave Braska a sly grin and clapped him hard on the shoulder. "You're a good man," stated Cid, giving Braska a hard look. Looking as though he were about to hug Braska, Cid stepped out of the bridge.

As he waited for Sara, Braska watched the seas in front of him. They were turning a very tumultuous gray. Behind the gray seas was the fuzzy outline of an island. From this distance the island did not appear to be very large, but first impressions are always deceiving. When Sara returned to take the wheel Braska heaved a sigh of relieve.

"Wow," she said in a mocking smile, "You didn't manage to kill us. I'm impressed."

Punching her shoulder lightly, Braska returned to watching the horizon. "Do you see the island in front of us?"

"Aye," she said, holding the lurching wheel with much more skill than Braska had. "We're going to have to dock there tonight. We may even have to stay a few days longer than usual."

"Why?" Braska asked, watching the island grow and become less fuzzy in front of them. "Do you think that this storm is that bad?"

"No," smiled Sara, "I think Mitsuki is hurting a little more than she lets on. Give it a few more hours and she'll be screaming at the top of her lungs."

"She's in labor now?" asked Braska, smiling within himself at the conversation he had just had with Cid.

"Not quite," said Sara after a moment. The island seemed to be growing much faster than she had anticipated. "Her water hasn't broken yet." Picking up the head of a tube attached to the wall among many other tubes, Sara said, "Cid, you better get up here. There's an unanticipated pull. I think we hit an archipelago."

Within minutes, Cid was in the cabin. Seeing the situation that was unfolding, Cid began barking out orders. After a quarter of an hour of men running around, shouting, and making numerous adjustments to the ship, they were safely stopped. Cid decided not to land the ship because they were inside an archipelago and would receive enough cover from the surrounding rocks. They were safe for the time being.

***

Braska stood outside the door of the captain's cabin, listening fearfully to what was transpiring from within. Mitsuki had been in labor for over twenty hours now, and only now had the ship stopped bobbing violently on the waves. None of the rigging was damaged but the crew was very abashed by the whole ordeal. Most of the crew was down in their quarters in the hold. Mitsuki, Cid, Sara, and the ship's doctor were in the room. The doctor made Braska leave the room because he wasn't family. Though, in the last few months these people had become his new family.

Dreadful screams and moans coming from Mitsuki indicated that she was finally in the process of giving birth. The doctor's calming voice could be heard reassuring her and telling her to push. After thirty or so minutes of the same routine, the doctor said, "Alright, one more push."

A few seconds later came the cry of a new born baby. Braska felt a tear of relief and happiness when he heard cid exclaim, "It's a boy! I have a son." Soon after the birth the door was opened by the doctor to admit Braska in.

The room was filled with joy and fatigue that emanated form the family, and its newest member. The new born baby boy was freshly cleaned by the doctor and nestled happily in his mother's arms. She was so enamored of her new son that her husband had to remind the doctor to keep the umbilical chord.

Holding his arms out, Cid said, "Let me hold him. You're tired and need your rest."

Reluctantly, Mitsuki kissed her baby on the forehead and handed him gently over to her husband. Cid held the baby with loving care, holding him close to his heart. "He's so beautiful," he breathed. "What should I call you, little one?"

"Something with an 'N'," piped up Mitsuki drowsily, right before she fell asleep.

Sara gave a little giggle and wrapped her arms around Braska's middle. He placed his arm lovingly around her shoulders. Together they watched the new father fall in love with his new son. "Figured out a name brother?" asked Sara.

"Niisa," he hummed. "My son, his name shall be Niisa."

Hugging each other for long moments, Braska admitted to Sara when they got back to her loft, "I want to have one of my own."

"One of what?" she asked, exhausted, he head resting on his chest.

"A baby," murmured Braska.

"When?" she asked, mostly to humor him. Sara had not yet gotten used to the fact that Braska was serious all the time, even when he was tired. She, on the other hand, did not have that ability.

"As soon as possible," he smiled, kissing her. "I want to have children," he added in a whisper, "With you."

Unfortunately Sara had fallen asleep before she had heard the rest of Braska's confession. Braska used the rest of the night before he fell asleep to contemplate how he was going to propose.

VII

983 S.A.

Braska watched the shore of Kilika melt into the horizon. Only last year had he been commissioned by the temple to study at this island. Instead, he became a part of an Al Bhed ship that sailed the high seas of Spira and proudly raided ships protected by nations favored by the teachings of Yevon. A year ago he had no family and no friends other than one old maester. Now he had wife and a child on the way.

These days Braska was much more sure footed on the craft than when he first stepped foot on it. To keep his place among the Al Bhed he became part of the crew. He was now very adept at all forms of seamanship. He even knew how to speak Al Bhed now, a talent not well respected among followers of Yevon.

After traveling with AL Bhed and integrating himself into their lives for a year, Braska came to understand the world better. He still believed that when Yevon commissions summoners to defeat Sin they are doing it for the greater good, but there was something he realized was rotten in the whole system. He surmised that a world and a system that revolved around a circle of death instead of life like Spira was rotten to the core. Braska just wasn't sure how he could combat the rottenness. Though, he would still become a summoner, but that was seven years away.

Sara was unaware of the fate that Braska had laid upon himself. She was not under the impression that their lives would be spent together forever, but she had grown to love him; much like the comfortable way that Cid and Mitsuki had. They even had a baby coming along, just as Cid and Mitsuki when he first met them. The only differences in Braska and Sara's story were that Braska knew precisely the maximum amount of time he would live and that they were of two very different races. Braska did not want Sara to know the destiny he had laid out before himself until Sin had risen again. Not until they had a stable life … and a seven year old child.

Cid came up from behind Braska and clapped him hard on the back. "Off to Mi'ihen!" he exclaimed loudly. "This shipment is due there soon!"

"What's got you in such high spirits?" Braska asked, turning to face his brother-in-law. Having lived on the same ship for over a year now, the two were more like brothers.

"It's always nice to have a legit job," he smiled heartily. "That and my little boy said his first word this morning."

Braska loved hearing about his nephew through Cid's eyes. Even though he saw the boy almost every day, Cid always had something new to say about him. "Oh yeah, what was it?"

"Cid!" he proclaimed. "The first word out of the little tike's mouth is the name of his dear old pops!"

"Shouldn't he call you dad or something?" asked Braska, imagining the little boy calling Cid by his first name.

"Na, he'll get to it in his own time." Cid, pausing for a moment to look over the rock islands that dotted the sea, asked, "So, have you and Sara thought of any names for your kid yet?"

"Sam, after your father if it's a boy," replied Braska, "and Yuna if it's a girl."

"Yuna?" Cid flecked his eyes to Braska's face, then back out to the sea. "Why Yuna?"

"The first High Summoner," replied Braska wistfully. "Yunalesca. I'm one of her direct descendants. Though, there are quite a few of us in Bevelle."

"Geez, and I almost forgot that you were Yevon. I can't believe you and Sara got married." Cid paused a moment to think. "Um, does Al Bhed law count for you Yevon folks?"

"No," replied Braska. "It's basically ignored."

"So, to you, you and Sara aren't really married."

"Not legally, in my home," replied Braska, understanding what Cid was getting at. "But, I'll never leave her, you know that. I may not be an Al Bhed by birth, but I am part of your culture now. I've broken off all ties to my old life."

"You better never leave her, or your kid," said Cid. "That child, I feel sorry for the life they are going to live. Being stuck between Al Bhed and Yevon, I wouldn't want to put that on my child's shoulders."

Braska only let his eyes drift like clouds over the horizon. "Yes, but I am capable, even if you doubt me." Pausing a moment, Braska looked around the boat. "I should go see to Sara."

***

A young man with messy black hair tied back loosely in a piece of fabric awoke in a room that was not his. He was naked, of which was discomforting in the cool morning air. The cold, dewy wind blew across his naked belly uncomfortably, which was what primarily awoke him. He noted, slightly embarrassedly, that his clothes were strewn around the room; as were the clothes of his bed mate.

The slight cotton sheet that was her blanket did little to conceal her naked body. Bright morning light pierced through her sheet revealing her feminine features, of which he was already quite familiar. This was not a girl that he loved, just a girl who he slept with occasionally. No one in his small village really made him feel the sensation of love that was mentioned in story books.

The young man did not feel love for or loved by anyone, romantically or platonically. He had a family, but they did not care for him. His world was contained within one little village, on the coast of Mi'ihen, north of Luca. All he enjoyed was the training he had undergone so far in the ways of bushido, from an old hermit who lived outside of this village on a small island.

Beside him the naked girl rolled over and grunted his name. "Auron," she said once again before drifting back into a fitful sleep.

Auron frowned and gathered his clothes. He hastily threw on his clothes, wary of the noise he created. More than once the girl's father had caught them in bed together and had given him a sound beating for it. Auron's parents, who were lowly farmers, were just as angry with him and threatened to throw him out if he didn't pull his act together. Heedless of their warnings, Auron still slept with the girl almost every night and would go right after with his father's boat to see the old hermit. When people get older they enjoy the early morning more, and Auron respected that about the old hermit.

Hearing the girl's father about to stir, Auron jumped out the window and sped down the hill. Losing his footing, he tumbled down, scratching his bare arms on the lose gravel, and splashed into the ocean. Grumbling loudly, Auron stood up, drenched to the bone. He didn't want to go back to his house to change, being more inclined to being wet.

Sloshing over to the boat he had tied to the rotting, shallow dock, Auron untied it. Getting in it, he pushed it off with and oar and began to drift. In the early morning, the ocean had a natural beauty to it that was hard to ignore. It was one of the pleasures in life that Auron really appreciated anymore.

As he made his way over to the hermit's island, Auron noticed something truly remarkable he never would have without venturing out on his boat. Only a few yards away from him sat an Al Bhed ship at anchor. There was nothing notable about it, other than it was Al Bhed and that it was just outside of Auron's tiny fishing and farming village.

A fleeting notion crept inside Auron's skull to row over to the boat. Gulping down what ever pride he felt in his sub-standard life he pumped his arms. He had all he need with him. Quite frankly, nothing from his life did he want to keep, other than his sword, which was in the boat with him.

Auron didn't have to call out to the boat for them to notice him. One man with very light blonde hair called out in Al Bhed to another and the whole ship came alive. Feeling a daunting presence on his throat, Auron called out. "Is this an Al Bhed ship?"

A confused blonde man shouted to someone on board, and a man who didn't look like an Al Bhed came forward. He shouted to Auron, "What is it kid? What are you doing?"

"I want to come aboard!"

The tall man with brown hair disappeared into the crowd of blonde men with goggles. Moments later, he brought out a shorter man with huge muscles. This man had an air of authority over the others. Looking down at Auron, he shouted almost angrily, "What do you want, runt?"

Auron gulped a breath of air. "I want to come with you! I've heard all about how you Al Bhed go raiding ships on the sea! I want to be a part of your ship!" Auron paused a moment to search his brain for something the hermit taught him. "Um, I even know a little Al Bhed! Um, _bmayca tnehl sa!_"

They responded to Auron's words with a resounding laugh. After their laughter had subsided and Auron's face was beet red, their leader said, "Now, why do you think we should just let you onto our ship? We ain't no charity, runt."

Racking his head, Auron answered, "Because I'm good with my hands! And I'm a fast learner!" Grabbing his sword, he held it up. "I'm also trained with a sword! I can help you on your raiding parties."

Auron felt his heart sink when the two men who could speak continental disappeared. He sat down on his boat and weighed anchor. He felt very conscious with twenty unfamiliar faces staring at him with goggles on while he waited for their deliberation.

***

"So," asked Cid, standing with Braska on the interior of the deck. "What do you think we should do?"

"Mik broke his arm on the engine carbines a few days ago and we do need another sword." Braska, with his height, could see the young man over the heads of the others, but only barely. "Let the kid on, he seems a little desperate."

Cid grumbled and pushed through the crowd of onlookers that was his crew. When he was at the rail, he saw the young man jump up in his rickety old boat, almost falling out of it. "Fine, we've deliberated, and I will agree to let you aboard my ship."

"Than―"

"Just one thing before you get too excited," interrupted Cid. "You have to be able to speak Al Bhed within months and you have to do everything I say! Got it?"

Auron bowed his head, careful not to unbalance the boat. "Yes sir." He said loudly enough for Cid to hear.

"Alright then," said the Al Bhed captain. Motioning to the men near the side, they let over a rope ladder.

Auron, not being as malicious as he would have liked, strapped the sword to his waist and jumped into the water. He left his father's boat with all of its fishing gear anchored where it was, so it could later be found by the villagers. The ocean water bit his skin in its cold depths in the morning when he jumped in. Auron was an adept swimmer, but even the cool shallows made him flounder. Once he grabbed hold of the ladder, he pulled himself with all of his might out of the water. One on deck he did not fall to his knees but stood firmly on his feet in front of the captain. His skin was the red color of skin cells dying because they were frozen.

Cid looked the young man up and down, a curious look in his eyes. "So, kid, do ye have a name?"

"Auron," he replied, careful to keep the shivers away from his words.

Braska, wary of the young man's well being, watched the conversation with caution. His brother-in-law was just the type of man who would put the kid right to work. Braska thought that it would be best if he warmed up first.

"We're heading out of this place pretty soon, so go help the guys raise the main sail. That should get you warmed up, out here in the sun, on the water." Cid clapped Auron hard on the back and went back to the bridge. "Oh, and you can sleep in the crew quarters. You should be able to find it yourself."

Auron nodded and went to do the task Cid had set out for him.

Braska shook his head when Cid turned to look at him. "Now, what are you shaking your head about?" Cid watched the young man work with enthusiasm. "You wanted him aboard, so what beetle crawled up your nose and died?"

Braska sighed. "You have no sympathy, do you? That boy had to have something bad going for him to make him want to come to us. He may not show it, but he's really depressed, and probably lonely."

"So, what do you want me to do about it?" Cid began to think to his own, newborn son, and wonder whether or not he'd be like that one day.

"Just keep doing what you're doing," replied Braska. "And, make sure if anything is going wrong that you tell me. He's of the Yevon, not the Al Bhed, he will understand me better."

"Sure, whatever." Cid crossed his arms and bent his neck to pop it. "Let him be your problem, I don't want any trouble."

VIII

983 S.A.

Cid stood at the rail of his boat in the early morning. Barely any of his crew was awake this early in the morning. The deck was bare, alight with the golden rays of an early morning sun. The sun also glinted heavily off of the beach at which they were docked.

Cid had been making berth at this island for months now, as had many other Al Bhed ships. This was the island of Bikanel, ancestral homeland of the Al Bhed. Hundreds of years ago the island was decimated by _Sin _and the Al Bhed people were scattered all throughout Spira. Even though Bikanel was just a desert now known as Sanubia, the Al Bhed still flocked here.

Beside him sat the ship's newest member, a young man named Auron. He slept while sitting up, his back leaning against one of the vertical bars on the ship's hand rail. Cid had a good reason for staying awake, but not the young man. This was his, Cid's, sister giving birth, a woman Auron had only met months ago. But the man was resolute in staying at least semi-awake during the entire ordeal.

Cid pet Niisa on the head when he burbled. The baby boy was slung comfortably to his father's chest in a carrying sac his mother made just for him. Niisa's mother was in the room with Sara and Braska, helping in the delivery process. Cid was left to take care of the baby.

Feeling anxious, he kicked Auron in the boot to wake him. The young man awoke quickly, blinking his eyes open. Muttering a "yes sir" in Al Bhed, he climbed to his feet.

"I need you to hold him," said Cid, gesturing to Niisa.

Only a slight look of confusion on his face, Auron took the baby from Cid. Niisa was a very tolerable child and was settled comfortably when his sac was secured on Auron's shoulders. "Have you ever held a baby before?"

Auron nodded, "I had a little brother much younger than me. But he drowned when he was five."

Little remarks like this were the only window into Auron's being that anyone had. Other than being loyal to a fault, he was never seen nor heard. Cid was really beginning to feel sorry for the young man who was so gentle with is son. "Be a good boy Niisa," said Cid, kissing his son on the forehead.

Niisa replied in a burble then closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Leaving Auron and the baby, Cid ventured into the same room his son was born into almost a year ago. He found that he was a little too late to console his sister when he heard a baby's screaming when he entered the inner part of the cabin.

"It's a girl!" said Mitsuki happily, cutting the umbilical chord. After cleaning away the birthing blood from the baby, she handed the little thing to her mother.

"She's so beautiful," sobbed Sara happily. "What did you want to name her again?" she asked Braska. She had forgotten the names in her painful ordeal.

"Yuna," smiled Braska, patting her head. "My little girl, Yuna."

"Here," said Sara, offering Yuna to Braska. "I'm so tired, I need to sleep."

Braska took the little baby girl carefully, not wanting to disturb her. Holding her close to his body, he stared at her face, transfixed. He had never expected to have children in his whole life, especially after the fate he had laid before himself. Now, in his arms, he held his daughter, a shining example that his life was not over yet. In this world he had now forever importance in someone's memory, if only one person's.

Cid came up to Braska and watched him with his daughter, Cid's new niece. "I can see the same look in your eyes that I had when Niisa was born. Magical, isn't it?"

Braska smiled and rocked the baby gently. "I know what is going through that very round head of yours right now."

Cid caught eyes with his wife, who looked away to go back to her duty of cleaning up. "And what would that be?"

"That this beautiful little girl has no place in Spira. She's half Al Bhed, half Yevon, and that's never going to change."

Cid placed his hand reassuringly on his brother-in-law's shoulder. "Yes, that is true. But if she will be anything like her father, I know that she'll be a good person to whom national boundaries will have no meaning. Her life will be a good one as long as her father will always remember to tell her that she's loved."

Braska kissed his little daughter on her forehead, and replied, "Thank you, Cid. That really means a lot coming from you." Holding little Yuna close to his body, he emerged from the room into the cool morning air. He smiled when he found Auron sitting on the deck, Niisa sleeping on his chest.

When he saw Braska, Auron stepped carefully to his feet, trying not to disturb Niisa. Niisa only gave a burble arguing to movement. When he was on his feet, Auron smiled at the newborn baby. "What's his name?" asked the young man, rocking Niisa gently.

Braska smiled and said, "Her name is Yuna." Braska held his newborn baby girl closer to Niisa, who had awoken. The baby boy watched Braska with interest. When Braska held Yuna very close to Niisa, the baby boy stretched out his pudgy little hand and grabbed her blanket. He let go and gave a "gah" happily. "You see that, making friends already. They're cousins but they'll be more like siblings."

Auron sighed happily while watching the new father. "I never knew anything like that."

"What was that you're talking about?"

"To my parents I was a burden, their only reason for marrying each other." Auron put his hand near Niisa's so the baby could grab it. "I was never a part of their lives, and I was blamed for the death of my little brother. Life was hell after he died."

"My family died in _Sin's _wake during the last cycle." Braska rocked Yuna, who slept peacefully in her father's arms. "Now, the people on this ship are all I have left." He watched how Auron cared for the little baby boy in wonder. "Auron, how old are you?"

"Eighteen," he said, smiling at Niisa.

"I guess you'd be too young to think about having you own family then," said Braska, seeing Mitsuki come out of the cabin.

Auron unstrapped the sac Niisa was in and gave him to his mother. Mitsuki took Niisa and proceeded to tickle him on the chin. Niisa gave a baby's chuckle and then cry a little bit. "Oh, I thought you were hungry," smiled Mitsuki. "Make sure she gets to sleep near her mother soon," she added, nodding to Yuna. Braska nodded to Mitsuki and she disappeared once again into the cabin.

Auron leaned tiredly on the rail of the ship. His eyes followed the horizon as the sun emerged from behind the dunes of the Sanubia desert. "I don't know. Whatever happens, well, happens. I don't usually have any say in the matter."

"It's pretty simple, kid," smiled Braska, "There's only one way to make a baby, and whether or not you've done it will determine whether or not you're a father."

Auron's cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink, his eyes still on the rising sun.

"Ah," said Braska. "So, you're not so innocent after all. Are you a father?"

Auron shrugged heavy shoulders. He cared about the matter, thought about it deeply, but he always wanted to keep an air of nonchalance. "I don't know, probably. I've slept with her … Tralisa … well, enough to get her pregnant. And she's a lowly fisherman's daughter who would have to keep it."

"Don't you have any regret that you might have a kid out there you may not know about?" asked Braska. Braska was unused to such feelings, himself being a student of the Temple of Yevon until he was twenty-five, therefore sworn to celibacy. He had never experienced the angst as Auron had, which he found was to his benefit.

"Yes," admitted Auron, "But I could never show my face back there again, after how I left. And, if she did have a kid, her father would kill me on the spot."

Braska held his hand out to Auron. "I promise you now that one day I will go with you back to your village if only to find out whether you have a child or not."

Auron gave a convoluted smile and shook Braska's hand. "Sure, but what do you want me to do, in return?"

Braska looked around the deck and was content when he saw no other people. "I am going to tell you a secret, and you can not tell another living soul, unless I say you can, understand me?"

Auron nodded, standing closer to Braska.

"I vowed when my family was killed that I would get my revenge."

"But," said Auron, "Didn't _Sin _kill your family?"

"Aye," he answered.

"So, what are you thinking?" Then Auron realized why Braska wanted to tell him this in secret. In a hushed voice, he said, "You're planning on becoming a High Summoner?"

"Please, don't tell Sara." Braska looked down to his daughter's face. A daughter he never would have had if he weren't in Bevelle three years earlier. "I want her to have a happy life without the knowledge that I deigned myself to this fate. And I want to live that life to the best of my abilities, even if I know when I'm going to die."

"Alright then," said Auron. "If you're going to become a Summoner, then I'll just have to be one of your guardians."

Braska smiled and watched the sun over the sands of Sanubia. "I would really appreciate that, Auron."

IX

990 S.A.

"Oh, Braska!" called Sara, running over to her collapsed husband. She couldn't lift his limp body for all of her efforts. "Wow, you're as limp as though you've just come out of Via Purifico!"

Auron came over and threw Braska's arm over his shoulder. Heaving to his feet, most of Braska's weight was held up by Auron. "C'mon, let's get home; Yuna will be waiting to see her parents."

"Yes," said Sara, lifting Braska's other arm by her shoulder. "Let's go home."

Upon emerging from the temple of Yevon Bevelle they came out to a crowd of cheering people. Braska was not the only summoner to come from the temple here, but whenever a summoner emerged there were always people there to greet them. Amongst the onlookers was Braska and Sara's daughter, Yuna. She was being held back from running out by one of the nuns who took care of her. When Yuna saw her father, she slipped from the nun's grasp and ran to Braska. Without saying anything, she hugged his waist.

"Okay, Miss Yuna," said Auron, politely as usual. "Let go of your father. He's very tired and needs to get home."

Yuna nodded and parted from her father. She then grabbed her mother's hand and sent with them down the street to where they lived. Their house was on temple grounds because Braska had been a student there for the last five years. Around when Cid had fully established Home as a refuge for the Al Bhed on Bikanel, and Yuna's younger cousin Rikku was born, Braska and Sara moved to Bevelle.

Auron came with them but lived in the barracks. He had been admitted as a warrior monk when he moved to Bevelle with Braska and his family, but had since fallen from grace. Although Auron was a polite and handsome young man, he did not accept the hand of a Yevon priests' daughter, putting him out of favor with the maesters. He should have been promoted recently, but the promotion was given to his friend in the monk hood, Kinoc, whom was not of the same skill level as Auron.

Soon they were at their house, and Braska fell directly asleep on the couch near the entrance. Hours later Sara woke him up because she didn't want him spending his last night at home sleeping on the couch. Auron and Yuna's nanny stayed over too to get ready for Braska's departure the next day.

***

10 B.S.

"Why can't you get it right boy?" yelled an older man. He caught a blitzball that had gone awry. "So what, are you going to cry now?"

The little boy wiped his face and stood defiantly in front of his father. "It's called the Jecht shot mark three, not the Tidus shot mark three!"

"If you're ever going to be a great blitz ball player like your dear old dad, then you're going to learn this move!"

"No!" Tidus yelled, and ran off.

Jecht sighed and called after him, "Don't you get lost now! Your Ma will kill me if you do!"

The little boy in the distance stopped, but did not turn around just yet. Begrudgingly admitting that he had no where to go, Tidus turned around and walked back to Jecht. Taking the blitzball from his father's hands, he tried the move again. He was yet again unsuccessful, but he was trying nonetheless.

"See, practice makes perfect, so keep practicing and you might be as good as me one day." Laughing, Jecht left Tidus practicing to go for a walk.

Jecht was a star blitzball player who played professionally with his home city of Zanarkand. Their main rivals were the team from Bevelle, the only other city their size on the continent of Spira. There were other cities they played with from other continents, but they were only usually during World Cup games.

For the last few years Bevelle and Zanarkand were having disputes over trade and labor laws. They constantly argued over who had rightful claim to the great plains that stretched between the two city states. The area was valued for both agricultural and mining privileges. Jecht feared that the disputes were only going to get worse as he noted Zanarkand amassing her armies.

Walking along a bridge in the cool night air, Jecht stopped to look over the side. He could still see the silver moonlight shine off of the scales of a fish beneath the water, even though it was night time. As he was watching the fish, he did not notice a stray blitzball coming hard at his head. The blitzball effectively knocked him out and propelled him forward into the water.

Tidus was left outside for hours still practicing his father's move until his mother called him inside. He never thought that this would be that last time he would see his father.

***

Upon awaking the next day after a fitful sleep, Braska looked out the window. The clouds were grey and moving quickly, a bad omen. On his bed sat a new robe, freshly sewn. At the foot of his bed stood Sara, his wife, who had so loving sewed the robe.

Getting out of bed, Braska picked up the robe and held it in front of himself. "Wow, Sara," he exclaimed, looking the new robe all over, "This is really special."

"Well," she said, hugging him around the middle. "A High Summoner needs to be presentable." She left the room, fully clothed, to let him dress.

Once he slipped the robe over his head, he noticed a head dress on the dresser on the other side of the room. The head dress was a little odd, but he put it on anyway. Catching himself in the mirror, he almost burst out laughing. Then he remembered that the maesters looked no odder than he.

Stepping down the stairs, he was careful not to trip on the hem of his robe. When he caught Auron's inquisitive eye, Braska said, "I know, I look like a fish."

"No you don't Daddy," said Yuna, running up to her father.

"Thank you dear." Bending down so that he could look her in the eye, Braska said, "Now you be a good girl for mommy. Daddy … daddy's going away for a while."

"Um, Braska," said Auron, looking at the top of the stairs.

"What is it Auron?" Braska asked, standing up. He didn't nee to be answered when he saw Sara standing at the top of the stairs. In one hand was a rifle, the other a short sword. "Sara, what are you doing?"

"There's no way in the farplane that you two are doing this alone!" she said defiantly, tromping down the stairs. "If Auron can be your guardian, then so can I!"

"Bur, Sara, who's going to take care of Yuna?"

"The temple," answered Sara, "I already asked her to do it."

Braska grumbled and looked at their daughter. "But, it will be a very dangerous journey. You could get hurt, and then who would take care of Yuna?"

"How more dangerous could it be than traveling with my brother for years?" she asked, her face very close to Braska's.

"But, _Sin's _at large again. There's no telling what he would do to a summoner's group."

In the corner, they both heard a grunt. "Just let her come, Braska. We need all the hands we can get. I very wise man once told me that seven years ago."

"Fine," said Braska, knowing that Auron was talking about him. "Let's just get going, the ship is set to leave at ten this morning."

"Where are you going daddy?" asked Yuna, holding her nanny's hand.

"We are going to Besaid first, honey," he said. "And then Kilika, Luca, Mi'ihen, Guadosalam, Macalania, back here. And then we have to go through the Calm Lands to Gagazet and through to Zanarkand."

"To Zanarkand?" the little girl asked. "Where they beat _Sin_?"

Braska felt a tear at his eye. "Yes honey, that's right." Standing up he got ready to leave. "I promise to send you a letter from each of those places, and to see you when we come back here." Exiting through the door, he came to the bridge that stood over the creek right in front of his house.

At that moment, his daughter broke away from the nun that was about to take Yuna to the Temple. Running up to her father who stood on the bridge that overlooked the Calm Lands, Yuna spread her arms and Braska gave her one last hug, as did Sara.

Getting a recording sphere out from his robes, Auron began to record the scene. "C'mon, Braska," said Auron. "We should get going."

"Alright," said Braska, "To the docks, then."

"Actually," said Sara, "I heard about this crazy guy they have down in the pens."

"What about him?" asked Braska.

"He must have been affected by _Sin's toxin _or something because he says he's from Zanarkand. But, then again, he was put in there in the first place because of public drunkenness."

"You're not serious," said Auron. "Why would we want to talk to a crazy drunk guy?"

Braska scratched his chin. "He might be a good guardian. I'm sure he'd want to go home, and that's where we're going, right?"

"I'm not so sure about this, Braska," said Auron, following the couple reluctantly down to the governmental section.

***

"Hey, Zanarkand!" shouted a guard. "Get up, you've got some visitors!"

Opening his eyes, Jecht watched through the iron bars in front of him. When he saw three people come in, he shrugged to his feet. There were two men and one woman, the woman holding a sphere recorder. Although, this recorder was much more banged up and cracked than the ones in his Zanarkand. "Yeah, what do you want?" he grunted in his deep and gruff voice.

"Are you the one from Zanarkand?" asked the man in the red robes.

"Aye," nodded Jecht.

"Then I would like to ask you to be one of my guardians, to guard me on my quest to defeat _Sin._ Our final destination is Zanarkand."

"Are you sure about that Braska?" asked Auron. "This man is a drunk!"

"And I am a summoner, fallen from grace, wed to an Al Bhed, with a guardian who left the monk hood after refusing the hand of the priest's daughter. No one thinks that we will be able to accomplish the quest, but I do. I think this man deserves as much of a chance as we do." Nodding to the guard, Braska watched as Jecht was released. Extending his hand, Braska said, "Welcome to our motley crew, being of Zanarkand."

_Summoner, _he thought to himself, his eyes on the man in robes who had released him. _Like I need to deal with another one of them loonies. Guys like them Yu Yevon, always vying for war in Spira. Probably was what happened to Bevelle, if I really am in the future. I wonder how the rest of Spira is. _Snapping out of his thoughts, Jecht said gruffly, "You can call me Jecht."

Even though he knew the answer, he asked, "So, what's a summer-ner anyways?" He didn't know if the meaning had changed in a millennium or not.

Braska smiled and said, "As a summoner I send the dead to the farplane and am starting on a pilgrimage to obtain the Final Aeon. I do all of this to defeat _Sin _and bring about the Calm."

"Oh," said Jecht, not quite understanding. "Alright then. I guess I'll be coming with you on this _pilgrimage_ of yours."

"Good," said Braska, clapping Jecht on the back. "Welcome to our team."

Having turned the recording off a few moments before, Sara added, "This sure doesn't look like the group of a High Summoner. But, what does _Sin _care anyways about stature a rankings? Let's go boys, a monster awaits!"

X

990 S.A.

Jecht caught his breath when he saw the shore of Besaid. In his time Besaid was a city, now it was a deserted beach with only a few remnants of the city Besaid once was. If the ruins in Besaid were as common as they were, Jecht did not want to think about in how much ruin the metropolis Zanarkand was.

As the ship they were in docked, Jecht watched three young children run up. Two were boys with bright orange hair, the other a girl with black hair. The taller of the two boys had a large cowlick and held a battered blitzball. The girl held an old mog doll.

"Look at that," smiled Braska, stepping off of the boat. "We have a welcoming committee."

The tallest of the three, the boy with the blitzball, came up to Auron and asked, "Whatcha come to Besaid for?" Although somewhat impolite, the boy had a bearing of kind curiosity.

"We're here on a pilgrimage," answered Auron, while Jecht and Sara were snickering under their breaths.

"Thought so," said the boy, "Just like all o' the other summoners, ya?"

"Yes," smiled Braska.

Jecht, though, had a look of concern on his face. "What do ya mean 'like all of the other summoners'?"

The older boy with orange hair pointed to and alcove of rock that lead away from the beach. "To the temple. All o' the summoners go there to get the Valefore."

"Can you show us where the temple is?" asked Sara in her most motherly voice.

The younger boy with orange hair crossed his arms and shook his head defiantly. "No, I just started playing on the beach! It's a long walk, and there are fiends around!"

Glaring at the boy who had just spoken, the dark haired girl hit him in the head with her hand and said, "Don't be so rude Chappu!"

"Don't hit me Lulu!" cried the boy in retort.

Sighing, the eldest of the three gestured to the four companions. "I'll show ya to the temple. Sorry about my bratty bro, ya?"

"Hey, don't call me a brat, Wakka!" cried the young boy named Chappu.

As he began to show the companions down the path, Wakka flung the blitzball to his younger brother. "You're still a brat though!" Ignoring his brother's arguments, Wakka showed the four to the village where the temple that housed the aeon Valefore.

Everyone was taken aback by the simplistic beauty of the Island of Besaid. All four of them had been living in a large metropolis, either in the past or the present. Besaid was a quaint little village that had been built up around the ancient temple. There were no roads; only one square in the middle of the village made of cobblestone and sand.

Braska felt himself gaining a huge respect for this small town. Having lived on a boat with the same people for years, he gained a respect for a close-knit community. Besaid was also a beautiful island with wondrous vegetation and scenery. "This is such a beautiful village."

"It feels too small to me," noted Jecht, looking around.

"That would make sense," chortled Sara. "If you come from where you claim, and the rumors are true, then the city you are from had more people living in it than all of Bevelle and Mi'ihen put together."

"I'm from Bevelle and I find this whole place beautiful, and peaceful." Turning to Auron, Braska asked, "When all of this is over, can you bring Yuna here for me?" Watching the boy, Wakka, who had shown them their way to the village, Braska added, "Bevelle is a dangerous place, especially for a child. This is a place where she can be with others her own age. It would be good for her to be here."

Auron nodded, aware that Sara's eyes were on him. "I will, Braska."

"Why would he need to bring your daughter here?" asked Jecht.

"Because," said Auron, "When a summoner summons the Final Aeon, they die."

"Oh," breathed Jecht. After a moment's pause for contemplation, Jecht added, "I figured as much. I'm sorry, if I, well, seemed insensitive."

Braska only smiled at Jecht, thankful for his understanding

Auron felt stupid after he noticed that Sara was holding a sphere recorder. Grumbling at her as he passed by, he continued to walk towards the temple. "C'mon, we have to get the Valefore aeon."

"Can't argue with that," smiled Braska, glancing to his wife. Walking with her, they followed Auron to the temple, Jecht walking behind them, still shell shocked from traveling a thousand years in time.

XI

990 S.A.

Jecht looked over a map as the ship he stood on skidded upon the waves. He recognized the land formation of Spira, but not some of the names. Such as, in his time, there was no such thing as the Moonflow or the Calm Lands. Mi'ihen was not noted as a city, but a road, and there were new locations such a Djose. Bevelle, Luca, Besaid, and Kilika were there, but his home of Zanarkand was labeled a ruin.

"So," he asked, holding tightly to the railing. "We're going to Kilika then? And we just came from Besaid?"

"Yes," said Auron, sitting on a bench near the cabin wall. The boat was a simple passenger vessel and was made primarily out of wood, unlike Al Bhed ships.

"Geez," exclaimed Jecht, taking another look at the map. He had a pretty good bearing of the continent, but this map seemed to be slightly stylized. "How far south did I travel?"

Auron took the map out of his hands and gave it a good look over. "You seemed to have traveled the entire length of the continent. A little far fetched, like the rest of your story."

"And just what are you getting at there?" demanded Jecht defensively.

"It's nothing." Auron returned to his seat, folding the cloth map. "I was once a timid person, always fearing that I could be cheated. After living with the Al Bhed for half a decade I learned better than to be afraid of my surroundings. I was not afraid, but I was still cautious, nonetheless."

Suddenly, Jecht felt a feeling of emptiness in the pit of his throat. The only other time he had felt a feeling such as this one was when he was transported to this point in time. It was a sensation that made him feel as though some forbearing presence weighed heavily on his heart. Looking out to sea in hopes of alleviating the odd feeling, Jecht noticed something. Out in the distance of the sea there was a large wave that appeared as an orb of force that pushed the water upwards and forwards.

"Um, Auron," asked Jecht, his eyes transfixed on the force. "What is that there in the distance? It's coming straight for us?"

Looking up from his small book, Auron's eyes widened in alarm at what he saw. "Sound the alarm!" he shouted. Just as his voice carried to the crew, Jecht saw small pods shoot out from the orb of water. Most of the pods fell in the water, but some still hit the ship, causing it to sway violently. At this moment Auron pulled a heavy sword from its sheath on his back. "Get your weapon ready," he grunted, running to the front of the ship.

Pulling the sword clumsily from his belt, Jecht held it firmly ready. Above him on the upper deck Sara and Braska emerged from the inside of the ship. Sara already had her rifle out and was shooting. What she was shooting Jecht had only envisioned in his dreams.

From the pods had come monsters of which looked like a mixture between and insect and a fish. The monsters were fighting with tentacles that were sharp on the end. Jecht was in such shock that he could only watch helplessly as crew members were skewered by these tentacles. A tentacle coming straight for his head was what lulled him out of his shock. With one deft swipe of his blade the monster was free of one of its tentacles, only to have another replace it instantly.

Fighting with all of his might, Jecht felt almost overwhelmed, until Sara came to his rescue. With one fatal shot to the head, Sara felled the monster and went onto shooting. When it seemed as though their side of the boat was clear, Sara shot Jecht a glance of appraise. A glance that would prove to be fatal.

Smiling up at Sara, Jecht saw something quite odd. Sara's face, which at one time was beaming with adrenaline, was blank and emotionless. In his horror, Jecht noticed a large tentacle poke out from above Sara's left breast. The monster had hit her heart.

Enraged, Jecht shouted Sara's name and followed the tentacle back to its owner. With one foul swoop of his blade the monster was cleanly cleaved in two. Though, it was not enough to save Sara.

In anguish Jecht ran over to Sara's side. Neither Braska nor Auron were around when Sara fell, only Jecht. Lifting her head with his hand, Jecht cried, "Hang in there Sara!"

Her shirt was covered in blood; the monster having hit the aorta, her life blood was spurting from her chest like a fountain. Pressing his hand as hard as he could on her chest to stop the bleeding without pushing his hand through her skin, Jecht drew his head closer to hers. Her mouth was bleeding from within and she choked on her own blood. Even in all her pain, she attempted to convey one last message while she was on this plane.

"Braska … where …" she heaved a painful breath. "Yuna …" Sara coughed dryly and blood spattered all over Jecht's face. Her eyes were wide, the green of her irises almost gone for how deeply her pupils were dilated. The bleeding was so severe that it was even being sucked out of her skin, making it whiter than her eyes.

Having heard the shout from Jecht, Braska sped over from where he had been fighting. His staff was that of which was full of magic so he had not incurred any physical damage. When he saw Sara, he dashed to her side. He did not touch her fearful that he would only do more damage, but pressed his face in as close to hers as he could without touching her. "Oh, Sara," he cried, tears streaming down his sweat covered face.

"Braska …" she gasped, lifting her hand to touch his face. "Don't cry …." Braska took her hand and squeezed it lovingly. With her last breath, she said "finish this … love …." She closed her eyes and her hand went limp. Jecht could no longer feel the pressure of spurting blood on his hand.

Kissing Sara on her forehead, Braska stood up defiantly. Jecht, covered in Sara's blood, positioned her body so that she looked like she was sleeping. He just stayed there, kneeling on the ground, watching Braska. The man was furiously shouting at the orb of water. Then he thrust his scepter up into the air. Closing his eyes, he twisted the scepter about in a well practiced fashion.

In one movement, he thrust the scepter forward and opened his wet eyes. In a strong voice Jecht had never heard him use, he said, "I summon thee, Bahamut!"

Jecht had only once seen a summons before, but this was much different. There was no land around from which the creature to emerge from and this summons was much stronger than those he witnessed in Zanarkand. In the sky pyre flies drew together from the dead bodies of the people and the monsters on board, as well as from the sea. When they were all congregated in a highly concentrated ball, they disappeared to form a creature in the sky.

This creature was more majestic than any other Jecht had ever seen. Its huge body, wings, and tail were all covered in thick, metallic looking blue feathers. It had the form of both a man and a drake, with the wings of a bird attached to its back. Above its back floated a spinning metal disc.

This creature, this Bahamut, in its entire majestic and powerful splendor, still obeyed the man who summoned it. From its position in the sky, it flew down to float behind Braska on the boat. Patting the Bahamut on the knee, as it was so much taller than Braska, the summoner ordered, "Kill all of the _Sinspawn._"

Nodding, the creature flew off and began a slaughter of all of the monsters left on the boat. Auron, seeing that he was no longer needed, clambered on up to their level. When he saw Sara's body, he bowed his head for a moment, and then watched the creature do its work.

"If you don't mind me asking," said Jecht, still covered in Sara's life blood, "Why didn't you just do that in the first place?"

Braska glared at Jecht with reproachful eyes. "Do you know what these monsters are?"

"No, I have no idea!"

"They are called _Sinspawn, _they are offshoots of that monster out there in the sea. That is _Sin, _and it is the reason we summoners go on our journey." Braska heaved a heavy sigh and fell to the ground. "Summoners are the only thing that can stop that monster, and if he knows one of us are around, there's no telling what it might do." Braska proceeded to sob quietly in his hands. "I knew it would be my fate to die on this journey, but it was not hers."

Auron crossed his arms and watched Bahamut's slaughter. The creature was so blood thirsty that it had even proceeded to kill the _Sinspawn _who were waiting to ambush from the ocean. "Be glad that she died the warrior's death, in the heat of battle. And that she died. If the tentacle had hit only a few inches to the north, she would have died all the same, but she would have been in much more pain."

"They say that when your life is taken away from one hit that you're so shocked that you don't feel yourself hurting," added Jecht. "You just feel yourself slipping away."

Auron felt a small smile on his face when he noticed the orb of force drawing away from the boat. "Look, _Sin _is retreating. It's not yet bold enough to take on Bahamut."

Braska did not look up, he only grabbed his scepter. "Good, the sooner we get to Kilika the better."

Once all of the monsters where killed, Bahamut disappeared into the sky. Braska then proceeded to twirl his scepter in a different way. He stood over Sara's body, his face stoic in its expression.

"What's he doing?" Jecht asked Auron in a quiet voice.

"A sending," answered Auron. "He's sending their souls to the farplane so that they won't turn into fiends."

"Oh," said Jecht, watching Braska's movements. "I see."

XII

990 S.A.

Jecht stepped unsteadily onto the deck of the extensive dock at Luca. He hadn't remembered Luca being so large, but that was of course about one millennium earlier. "How many more boats do we have to go on?"

"None," said Braska, walking past Jecht easily. Braska had no time for land sickness. Even Auron was queasy, but he kept up easily with Braska.

Jecht's mouth dropped open. "You mean that we're walking to Zanarkand all the way from Luca?"

Without turning around Braska answered, "It's the safest way to make it to Zanarkand, taking the overland route."

Jecht snatched the map out of Auron's hand and peered at it closely. "Holy, that's a long way to go!"

Auron stopped Jecht and looked at the map with him. "You see that river there?" Auron pointed to a long sea between Djose and Guadosalam. "That's the Moonflow. We take an amphibious creature across it the full length. We can also take Chocobos on the Mi'ihen Highroad and in the Calm Lands."

"Yeah," added Jecht, "But we have to climb Mt. Gagazet all on our own!"

"It's a test," said Braska impatiently from up ahead. "Now you two start moving and maybe we'll get somewhere!"

After a few moments, Jecht asked, "So, where is the temple in Luca?"

"There is no temple in Luca," said Auron, walking with Jecht behind Braska. "Luca has such a large population because it's the only city with a functioning bliztball stadium."

Jecht felt tears of recognition well up in his eyes. "Blitzball! That's what I did at home! Can we go see it, please?"

Braska asked, "Why do you want to see blitzball?"

"Back home in Zanarkand I am a bit of a celebrity for my blitzing skills," bragged Jecht.

"Why would you want to watch it then, if you play it so much?" asked Braska, ignoring Auron's impatient gestures.

"I feel homesick," said Jecht, searching the skyline of Luca for the stadium. "Besides, I want to shoot some footage of the games for my kid. He wants to beat me real bad, and I thought it would help him get better."

"Alright, Jecht, we'll go watch a game," said Braska, tired of traveling.

"We have to set out on the Mi'ihen Highroad as soon as possible," warned Auron.

"Don't be such a killjoy Auron," grunted Jecht in his deep voice, his head craning over the crowd. He found the stadium and the ball was already filled with water. "Blitzball, here I come!" shouted Jecht, running towards the stadium excitedly.

***

Making their way through the city after watching the game, Braska asked, "Do you want to take a visit to your home, Auron?"

Passionless, Auron kept walking, his eyes on the walkway ahead. "I haven't been there in seven years."

"I know, right around when Yuna was born." Braska began the long ascent of white marble stairs they had come to. "Even if you don't want to, we're going. Your parents deserve to know what's become of their son."

"Yes sir," said Auron, beginning his stalwart journey up the steps.

***

After a few days of walking down the Highroad, they came to a small village on the coast. Jecht would have never noticed it because it veered off the main road, but Auron found it no sweat. Every one of the little houses were little more than shack and were in serious disrepair.

"So, this is your home kid," said Jecht, looking about the area.

"Yeah." After a pause, Auron added, "Just wait until you see your home town, then we can talk about how rundown a town is."

"Okay you two," said Braska, smiling to a young woman who was walking by with a fish basket under her arm. "Hello, we were just looking for … um … Auron, what were your parents' names?"

The woman nearly dropped her fish basket when she heard the name. "Holy, Auron, is that you?"

"Aye and you are?" he said tiredly.

The woman screwed up her face in slight anger. "Of course, big traveler you are, forgetting about your home." Sticking her nose up in the air, she added, "Oh yeah, you're parents have been dead for a while."

Jecht expected this to get a rise out of Auron, but he was as emotionless as ever. "Alright then. I told you it was a useless point on coming here." And with that, Auron was beginning to leave the village for the Highroad.

"Hey, aren't you going to at least say hello to Tralisa while you're here?" asked the young woman as Auron was walking.

"So, she's not dead then?" asked Auron, slightly annoyed. Tralisa reminded him of a part of his life he would rather forget. Since his teenage fling with her Auron had kept a celibate lifestyle, honing his bushido skills alone.

"B-but, didn't you love her?" asked the young woman, watching a young girl walk down the path she had just come from.

"No," said Auron. His frankness not only stunned the woman, but his two companions as well. "She was only a lapse in my personal judgment during a weak stage in my life."

The woman took the little girl's hand and looked sadly at Auron. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Being the kind father figure as usual, Braska bent down to talk to the little girl. "Why, hello there, what's your name little girl?"

"Paine," she said in a painful way not suited to a seven year old child.

"She's Tralisa's daughter," added the young woman.

This was one of the only things that could have gotten a sense of life out of Auron. "She's Tralisa's, is she." Feeling tears well up in his eyes, Auron looked intently at the little girl, taking a mental photograph. As a guardian, his life was no longer his own, and he never expected to see this little girl again in his life. Her short cropped hair was such a wet sand looking brown it appeared gray. Her sad eyes were a deep red, and her skin was an uncharacteristic white of fisher people.

Bending down as Braska had, Auron pulled a little knife out of his jacket. It was nothing special, but it was a well sharpened but old blade whose cover on the handle Auron had replaced himself. "Paine, I'd like to give this to you." Holding the blade, he offered the handle to the little girl. "Just remember to not stick it at anything you don't want to hurt, and to pass it like I just did. And never run with it, unless you have to, do you understand?"

The little girl nodded.

"What do you say Paine?" asked the young woman.

"Thank you," squeaked the little girl.

Nodding, Auron said, "Good bye," and left with his two companions.

Behind them, back in the village, Paine asked the young woman, "Who was that man?"

"He was your daddy." The young woman released the little girl's hand, and went back to her chores.

"My daddy?" asked Paine, looking at the knife. Even though she did not know it, this gift would come to lead her down her chosen path in the world. Though, that is another story.

***

"So, what just happened there?" asked Jecht, catching up the Auron and Braska. He often lagged behind because he was looking at the scenery, and he had to carry the supplies.

"When Auron was younger, he often slept with this young woman named Tralisa," said Braska objectively. "That was her daughter."

Jecht's eyes went wide. "So, you just found out that you had a kid?"

Auron sighed and kept on looking straight forward. "Yes, that is what appears to have happened."

"So, then why aren't you more shaken up about it?"

"Believe me, I am," said Auron. "But we have a task to finish. It's about a week to Djose, and we need all the time we can get. Plus, I am a guardian, and it is my duty to serve my summoner until he no longer needs me. Then, when this is all done, I can focus my energy on other things. You would do well to remember that."

"Yeah," said Jecht in resignation. Even though he knew it was his duty to serve Braska at this present moment, his thoughts still went back to the son he left in the past; the son who had been dead for almost a thousand years.

XIII

990 S.A.

"Oh, c'mon Auron!" burbled Jecht. "Don' be such a par'y pooper!"

"I didn't even touch that stuff when I was a teenager, why do you think I would now?" he exclaimed, pushing the bottle away. "Where did you get that bottle any way?"

Jecht shrugged sheepishly and took another swig from the bottle in his hand. "Jus' back thar," he said throwing his arm behind himself. "I found i' on the ground. Someone must 'ave dropped i', so I picked i' up!"

"You're drunk," said Auron disgustedly, pushing away from Jecht. "Braska, how close are we to the Moonflow?"

Braska only smiled at Auron in a parental way. "Look ahead, what do you see?"

Looking ahead all Auron saw was a large line of trees. Though, after watching the trees for a few moments, he noted that there was something odd about the sky above them. "There's pyre flies behind those trees."

"Yes, there are. So, what would be behind the trees then?" Braska kept on walking calmly. During the entire journey he was the only one who never complained; he just kept soldiering on towards their almost unattainable end.

Jecht perked up in drunken fervor. "The Moonflow! We're here!" Shifting the pack on his back, he ran ahead of the others excitedly.

Auron swore and ran forward to catch up to Jecht. Braska only smiled and followed the two down the path at a quickened pace. Even though he may have wanted to run, he didn't want to trip on his robes. Braska was a summoner, and he had a reputation to uphold.

Jecht, on the other hand, being as drunk as he was, had no notion about reputation. Though, he still had a sense of duty when it came to his position of guardian. His vision blurred by his drunkenness, he took his blade from its position at his side. "Holy, look a' the size of tha' fiend! Don't worry Braska!" Jecht raised his sword and ran forward.

To Auron's horror, the fiend that Jecht was attacking was in reality a shoopuf, one of the transport animals that traveled over the Moonflow. A shoopuf was a large amphibious creature, like most creatures, including humans, were on the continent of Spira. It had a long nose that could grab plants and suck up water like a straw. Jecht attacked the shoopuf feebly, only cutting through the tope layer of very leathery skin. Nonetheless, he did scare the creature enough to make it rear on its hind legs and attempt to stomp on Jecht. It would have succeeded too, if Auron hadn't pushed Jecht out of the way. Auron effectively pushed Jecht so hard that he hit his head on the granite walk and went unconscious.

Upon seeing the commotion, a dozen of the shoopuf's trainers came out to calm it down. One came up to Auron and started yelling in its fishy voice. "Whatsh are you doing? Whysh do you attack zhe shoopuf?" Every one of the trainers were Hypellos, a race of creatures that looked like a mix between a frog and a man. It stood on two hind legs like a man, but it had two large, fishy eyes protruding from the side of its head. Its skin was a light blue color and each one of the frog-like men wore humble yellow garments. Though, truth be told, they would have worn nothing had not the humans insisted they did.

"I'm terribly sorry," consolidated Auron, seeing Braska coming from the path. "My … companion here is drunk and he thought your shoopuf was a fiend."

"Whatsh! Zhe shoopuf ish not a fiend! It ish a shoopuf! Now it ish a shoopuf thatsh bleeding!"

Braska coming up from behind Auron was more interested in the frightened animal than the fact that one of his guardians was unconscious on the ground. "What's going on here? What's wrong with the shoopuf?"

"He attacksh zhe shoopuf!" exclaimed the Hypello, pointing a webbed finger at an unconscious Jecht.

"Jecht," sighed Braska, taking out his staff. "I'm a summoner, and I'm trained in white magic. Let me help." Walking over to the startled creature, Braska said some calming words. Though, the creature was so loud and scared, it paid scant attention. Taking his staff, he said some words of magic, and placed his staff near the creature's leg. The wound was healed, but it kept a scar. "There, is there any other compensation I can offer you?"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, um, um, um," said the Hypello, going over to talk to another one of its kind. "Wesh Hypellosh wantsh a bigger fee for zhe croshing of zhe Moonflow!"

Braska sighed and looked at the unconscious Jecht. They needed to get across the Moonflow as fast as possible. "Name your price then."

"Well, zhish shoopuf ish out of commishin, so we needsh zhe compenshashin for zhe ridesh zhish shoopuf would have done. We wantsh a zhoushand gil."

"A thousand!" protested Auron. "But, do we have that much to pay them?"

"You underestimate the wealth of the Temple of Yevon. We can pay, easily." Braska gave the unconscious Jecht and evil look. "But, he needs to make his own compensation. When we get to Guadosalam he has to carry everything, on top of not sleeping in the tent for a week."

"Huh," said Auron, heaving Jecht up onto his shoulders. He was slightly heavy, but Auron only needed to brunt the weight until they got up on the shoopuf. "Slightly juvenile punishment, don't you think?"

"He was being juvenile when he attacked the poor thing," said Braska, boarding the creature.

"If he was this way with the shoopuf," noted Auron, flinging Jecht's limp body onto the creature, "I don't want to see how he's going to act around the Guado."

XIV

990 S.A.

Jecht held his head gingerly as he woke up groggy on the back of a strange creature. "Oh man, what happened?" asked Jecht. When he noticed that he was moving closer to a shoreline he sat bolt up right in his seat. "Whoa, where are we?"

"We are traveling on the Moonflow, about to dock at the northern port," said Braska, watching the coast.

Noticing that Auron was intently watching the waters of the Moonflow, Jecht poked his head over the side as well. He was surprised to see an extensive city that looked similar to Zanarkand below the waters. "Whoa, what is that?"

"The sunken city of Mi'ihen," said Auron. "The monster, _Sin_, sunk it centuries ago. Because of the ecological system of the Moonflow it has been preserved."

"Huh," said Jecht, still looking over the side. The city under the water reminded him of Zanarkand, and of the family he left behind. As he watched the city, he began to notice what they were traveling on. Their transport was not a ship, but a large animal, which startled Jecht. "Whoa, what are we riding?"

"A shoopuf ish whatsh you ish ridingsh," said the animal's guide, as the animal clambered up onto the shore. Jecht held tightly to the rail so that he would not tumble from the harsh movements. When the animal stopped, the guide added, "Zhe shity of zhe Guadosh ish norzh of heresh." He deftly pointed a blue, webbed finger ahead of them, and then prepared to take another group back across the Moonflow.

Jecht, still in shock after having been talked to by what appeared to be a blue frog, only followed Braska and Auron. After they were on the forest path heading for yet another locale Jecht was unfamiliar with, Jecht asked, "So, what happened? I have a hell of a head ache."

"You got drunk and attacked one of the transport animals thinking that it was a fiend," said Braska frankly.

Auron added, "Now you owe Braska a thousand gil for the trouble."

Jecht heaved a gulp that caught heavily in his throat. "Wow, my kid kept telling me I drunk too much. I'm so sorry guys; I promise I'll never drink again."

"That better be a good promise," said Auron, "We never know when we may need you."

Scratching his sore head, Jecht asked, "Where are we going? Is it close to another temple?"

Auron got out his map of Spira to show Jecht again. "The last temple we were at was Djose, in the Mushroom Rock area. The next temple on the path is Macalania. It's covered in ice, so you may be at a disadvantage." Auron had taken a note about the way Jecht was dressed.

"Oh, great," muttered Jecht. "What about this area between Guadosalam and Macalania?" Jecht pointed at the map. "The Thunder Plains, now, why don't I like the sound of that?"

"I really don't know why they're call the _Thunder_ Plains," said Braska, leading the group as usual. Even though he was somewhat bogged down by his robes, he could move faster because he had nothing to carry, save for his staff of course. "They ought to be called the _Lightning _Plains. It's not like the thunder is what bolts down from the sky and hits you anyways."

Jecht gulped a heavy breath of air. "Lightning can hit you there?"

"No worries," said Braska. "The lightning, because it is so frequent is of such a low voltage that it doesn't really hurt. It only stings a little bit when you get hit, which wont happen if you make it to the towers in time."

"Braska," said Auron, "Why are you talking about this? We still have to get to Guadosalam before we venture into the Thunder Plains. And, I think the Guados would like to see you, you being a summoner and all."

Nodding, Braska walked forward. An hour or two of silence between the three men: Braska was still mournful of his wife, Jecht was sourly embarrassed, and Auron was just, well, quiet. The first who decided to talk was Auron, quite remarkably. "I don't mean to be rude, but there is the entrance to the farplane in Guadosalam. You could say your last goodbyes, and all that."

"Why would that be rude Auron?" smiled Braska. "I think that's a wonderful idea. That way you can say goodbye to your parents and you to your family, Jecht."

"Sure, why not?" said Jecht, walking up to a platform that had been formed of the living tree. "It's not like this journey hasn't been weird and morbid enough already."

"Just be glad we aren't at the finish line," said Braska somberly.

"Why, what's at the finish line?" asked Jecht.

Both men glanced at Jecht somberly and proceeded through the entrance of the tree city of Guadosalam. When Jecht entered the city of the Guados, he felt like a bug. The whole city was within a series of huge and ancient trees. The tree the city itself was made of was probably older than the city of Zanarkand, but Jecht had never seen not heard of it before. When he first laid eyes on one of the Guado, he thought they were a growth of twigs coming out of the tree itself, until it started to talk to them.

"Hello, my name Cedric," said a Guado man. He offered his hand out to Braska, and he took it in a shake. After seeing two odd humanoid species in one day, Jecht found that the Hypellos were much more pleasant than the Guados. The Gaudos were pleasant, but they had an air of pompousness that he could see right through. The Guado were the type of people that could never be trusted, thought Jecht as he watched one approach.

This certain Guado had a different presence than the others. He was revered as he walked, but also shunned. This Guado was younger than the others that greeted the group, but he held a countenance of regal bearing unlike the others. Unlike the other Guado, this one was younger and much skinnier. His arms were not nearly as gangly, and he looked less like a branch coming out of the tree and more like a person apart from it. His blue hair was pointed and clumped as the other Guado's hair was, but it had a less leafy texture.

Bowing to Braska, the young Guado said, "Hello. My name is Seymour, son of Lord Jyscal, and I humbly welcome you to our city."

Braska smiled and gave the young one a similar bow. "Hello, Seymour. I am in awe that the leader or your people would send out his own son to welcome a lowly traveler such as myself."

"Such is customary with the arrival of all summoners," said Seymour, looking up to Braska's face with strong eyes.

"How many other groups have been through here before us?" asked Jecht with a husky voice. He could not place his finger on it, but something about this boy made him uneasy, even more than the other Guado.

"Three, sir," said Seymour, turning to face Jecht. "Every group was preparing to make their way through the Thunder Plains to the Temple of Yevon Macalania."

Jecht let his mouth fall agape at the news the young prince related to them. "Three? We have three groups to compete with?"

"It's not a competition Jecht," smiled Braska in his fatherly tone. Braska often talked to Jecht like this, even though Jecht was seven years older than Braska.

"Anyways," noted Auron, "Braska already has Bahamut's aeon form, so we can sidestep the temple in Bevelle. Though, we're still stopping there because of Braska's daughter."

In a quiet voice, Braska said, "Know when to talk and when not to, young Auron. It would do you a world of good in the future."

"Yes sir," said Auron, humiliated in front of the prince of the Guados.

Not aware of any misconduct, Seymour said, "You have a daughter, Sir Braska?"

"Yes, she is in Bevelle," said Braska.

"How old is she?" asked the prince in a curious and child-like way.

"Seven," said Braska, "About your age."

Seymour's face grew a slight shade of pink; difficult considering his darker complexion. "Sir, I am sixteen, not seven."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Braska truthfully. "You just appear very young, for a Guado I mean."

"I am half human, sir, so I have traits of both races." Bowing again, Seymour stretched his hand out towards the rest of the city. "Will you require any accommodations for the night?"

"No," said Braska, shaking his head slightly. "We are just here to visit the farplane, and then we are to travel through the Thunder Plains."

"Then I shall leave you to your travels," said the prince, bowing as he left.

"Hmph," grunted Jecht after a few minutes. "There's something rotten about this place. And that kid just seems to be the rottenest out of them all."

"And why would that be?" asked Auron, following Braska up a root that was shaped to be a pathway.

"I don't know," said Jecht, following the two with difficulty up the branch, his bag being as heavy as it was. "When you've been around children as much as I have, you just know when they've done something wrong. And that kid seemed like that the whole time. You agree with me, right Braska?"

Braska nodded as he came up to a portal. The portal was clear and could be seen through easily, but looked as though it were a sheet of water. In front of the portal stood a Guado as a greeter. "Hello travelers, come to see the dead, have we?"

Jecht was alarmed at the old Guado's remark. "Greet the dead? What does he mean?"

"This is a greeting spot for the living to see their dead loved ones," said Auron, sitting on the steps that lead up to the portal.

"See their dead loved ones?" asked Jecht. Watching Braska walk up the steps, Jecht understood. "He wants to see Sara."

"One last time," mumbled Auron.

"What was that Auron?" asked Jecht, slipping the heavy traveling pack from his shoulders.

"Oh, nothing," said Auron. "We can't stay here too long. You should go in when you have the chance. If you really are from a thousand years ago, then everybody you knew should be in there, right?"

"Yeah," said Jecht, feeling a heavy feeling catch in his throat. Whenever he thought about his family he felt like he was a huge disappointment to them. They could never understand what happened to him and he could never say sorry to them. At least this way he could see their ghosts and tell them his apologies and his sorrows. "Are you not going in, Auron?"

"No, I have no need to. I left my parents seven years ago and I need no reminders of them. You go, see your family."

"Alright," said Jecht, walking up the steps to the mouth of the portal.

***

Upon entering the farplane Jecht found Braska quickly. The whole area was severely surreal to him. Pyreflies were everywhere, and the ground miles below them was covered in flowers on a little island. Everywhere else there were waterfalls that came from nowhere and went nowhere. Directly ahead of the stone observatory disc they stood on was a pillar of black smoke. In the center of the pillar was a blue, moon-like disc that glowed eerily.

"So, Braska," said Jecht, stepping up slowly behind him. Floating in front of Braska at the same level but not on the stone disc were five people. The first Jecht recognized as Sara, Braska's newly deceased wife. The other four must have been the family he grew up with. "So, what do I do? You know, to see them?"

Sighing heavily, Braska said, "You go to the edge and then think about your loved ones."

"Okay," said Jecht, stepping to the edge of the stone disc. Closing his eyes, he envisioned his wife and son the way he remembered them. When he opened his eyes, he saw the sad and translucent face of his wife looking back at him. Surprised, Jecht nearly fell backwards. "Holy, honey, its you!"

The apparition of his dead wife did not make any moves or gestures. She only floated there.

"I'm so sorry I disappeared on you and Tidus! I never wanted to leave you two! I love you both more than anything in the world." Pausing for a moment, Jecht searched around the farplane. He was sure he thought about his son as well as his wife. "Um, where's Tidus?"

"What was that Jecht?" answered Braska, thinking the question was directed at him.

"I can't see him!" exclaimed Jecht, still searching.

"See who?" asked Braska, coming over to Jecht. "Who are you looking for?"

"Tidus! My son!"

"Well," said Braska reasonably, "If he's not here then he's alive."

"That's impossible," said Jecht. "A thousand years ago he was six years old. How could he still be alive?"

"Maybe he traveled through time, just as you did."

Jecht felt a huge weight lift off of his heart. "Yeah, that's possible, isn't it?" Blowing a kiss to his wife, Jecht walked out of the farplane with Braska. "Do you think we could find him?"

"No," said Braska, nodding to Auron as they walked down the steps. "There's a chance that he's still traveling through time as we speak. I don't want to have to think about children right now. I've decided that we're going to skip Bevelle and keep on through the Macalania Forest to the Calm Lands."

"Why?" asked Auron, helping Jecht strap the pack on his shoulders. "Don't you want to see Yuna?"

"This whole journey will be a lot easier if I forget what I'm giving up to achieve my goal."

Not responding to Braska's last remark, Auron and Jecht followed him through the city of Guadosalam. As Jecht noticed by the time they got to the Thunder Plains entrance that it was almost sunset. When they exited the city for the plains, Jecht was alarmed when a lightening strike hit the ground right in front of him. Feeling excited, Jecht quickly grabbed a sphere out of his pack. "Guys, I have an idea."

"What is it?" asked Auron, having a sphere recorder thrust in his hands.

"I can dodge those!" exclaimed Jecht, watching the sky. "I want you to record me!" Shrugging out of his pack, Jecht deftly ran out into the open, away from the protection of the lightening towers.

Watching Jecht out in the middle of the plains, Braska asked, "What's going on?"

"Jecht wants me to record him," said Auron, having turned the recorder on a while ago. Though, preoccupied with talking to Braska, he didn't have it turned the right way.

"Why?"

"Dodging a lightening strike," answered Auron.

"Auron! Do you have it going?" shouted Jecht, anxiously watching the sky."Yeah," said Auron, still talking to Braska.

Watching the two talk, Jecht didn't notice one of the lightening strikes come down straight for him. The sphere recorded him being knocked to the ground, instead of him dodging the strike. From the ground he begrudgingly heard the two laughing at him.

Upon getting up, when Jecht raised his head. Including his two companions, he saw many more men, of which one was standing right in front of Braska menacingly. Jecht was incredulous that the man who appeared to be threatening Braska had larger muscles than he. When he approached, Braska drew in a sharp breath and Auron cursed.

"What? Who is that guy?" asked Jecht, who couldn't see clearly through the storm at the back of the group.

"Cid," said Auron, "Braska's brother-in-law."

"Oh," said Jecht, feeling empathetically pale for Braska.

XV

990 S.A.

"Hello, Cid," said Braska calmly, looking at the man who was shorter but more muscular than he.

Balling a tight fist, Cid breathed heavily. "You damn bastard!" swore Cid, looking as though he were about to punch Braska. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"About what Cid?" asked Braska calmly, but with a hint of anger.

Cid abruptly grabbed Braska about the collar, causing both Auron and Jecht to grab their swords. "What do you think? It's all your fault! It's all your fault that Sara died, all because of your fool quest."

Pushing Cid's hand away with more power than anyone gave Braska credit for, Braska said, "This is not some fool quest, Cid! My companions and I are doing this for the good of Spira."

"Yeah, you and the ninety-eight before you who accomplished this task," spat Cid. "Not to mention all of the others who died in the attempt of defeating Sin! Like Sara!"

"It was her choice to accompany me on this journey Cid!" shouted Braska. Both men were so emotional now that both of their faces were red with tears. "I didn't even want her to come! Just ask Auron! It's not like I was the one who made a hole in her chest!"

"Yeah," added Jecht, trying to calm the two down, "That was one of them _sinspawn's _handiwork. I know, because I was there when it happened."

"And just who are you?" snapped Cid, fuming in the cold rain of the Thunder Plains.

"This is Jecht," said Braska, "One of my guardians, like Auron is, and Sara was."

"Why did you let her be one of your guardians?" demanded Cid, seeing some of his comrades come up behind him to see what all of the commotion was.

"There was no stopping her," said Auron, "She was a good fighter, and she knew it. Any one of us could have been speared by the _sinspawn_, but that was her fate."

"You could have told me in a better way than sending a letter!" shouted Cid; both of his fists clenched tight, the muscles in his arms taut. "Now I'll never see my baby sister ever again!" Waving his hand, a group of Al Bhed men pressed upon Braska's group with an odd concoction. Within moments all three of the men were knocked out cold. "We'll begin this conversation again when we're on my terms."

***

Jecht awoke groggily on an uneasily shifting mass. Rubbing his aching head, he searched around the room that was still fuzzy because his eyes had not focused yet. In his older age he had a harder time focusing with his eyes; a fact that he had not told anyone, not even his wife. Next to him was sitting Auron without his jacket on examining a piece of paper.

"Hey, Auron, where are we?"

"On an Al Bhed ship," grunted Auron, still looking at the piece of paper.

"Remind me, what is an Al Bhed again?"

"Remember the guy who attacked us at the entrance of the Thunder Plains?"

"Oh," grunted Jecht, attempting to sit up. "That Cid guy."

"Yeah," said Auron.

"Is that a map?" asked Jecht from his sitting position on the floor.

"Yes," said Auron.

"Well," said Jecht, crawling over to Auron on the unsteady floor of the ship. "Where are we?"

"Probably half way to Bikanel by now," said Auron, pointing out a stretch of ocean between Bevelle and Bikanel. "That's where Cid has built a refuge for the Al Bhed, or so Braska has informed me."

"Are we going to go that far?"

"I don't think Braska would let that happen." Auron folded up the map and stretched out on the pile of net he was sitting on. Staring at the ceiling, he added, "I have a lot of fond memories about this boat. I lived on it for a few years. I can't believe Cid still has it."

"Oh, really?" asked Jecht, looking up at the wooded ceiling. He didn't find it too interesting, but he realized he would look at the ceiling in his home the same way if he ever came to it again.

"Why do you think this Cid guy would listen to anything that Braska says?"

"If Cid doesn't, then the crew would," said Auron. "Braska was a member of this crew years before I was, a great feat for any outsider. He's who got me onboard, and I owe the rest of my life to him."

"Even if you're forced to fight fiends on ever road we take?"

Auron gave an uncharacteristic smile. "That's the fun part."

Jecht smiled and said, "You're crazy, man." Sitting in silence for a moment, Jecht said, "Where do you think Braska is?"

"Arguing with Cid," said Auron.

"Oh. About what?"

"Cid, like most Al Bheds, is caustic towards Yevon, and thinks there is another way to defeating _Sin. _He's mistaken, but he still doesn't want his brother-in-law to be a High Summoner."

"Why not?" asked Jecht.

"You should ask him yourself later."

***

Braska sat calmly, his arms crossed. In front of him in the same states room that both Niisa and Yuna were born in Cid fumed as he walked in disorientated circles. "I don't see what your big problem with me being a summoner is."

"You don't see? What, are you blind?" Cid held his aching head, and then he rubbed his eyes. "If you don't accomplish your journey you'll turn into some kind of fiend! And if you do accomplish your journey, you'll die anyways!"

"To keep your mind at ease," said Braska, "I would have never chosen Sara. To be my guardian."

"Well, that's good," said Cid sarcastically.

"Braska sighed. "I don't want to seem sick, but that's why I coerced you into letting Auron on this ship years ago. I thought he would make a perfect guardian. I was lucky enough to also get Jecht literally out of the blue."

"How long have you been planning this?" asked Cid, horrified.

Gulping in a breath of air, Braska told Cid the truth. "Ten years; ever since my family was killed by _Sin _during the last cycle."

Cid held his tired head in his hands. "Ten years. Ten years, I can't believe this. Two years before you even met my sister you decided when and how you were going to die? And you still courted my sister?"

"And I loved her with all my heart, Cid," said Braska. "Eight years of love like that is more than most people could ask for. We had Yuna, too, and I love her more than air."

"If you do this, Yuna will be orphaned Braska! How could you expect a child her age to deal with something of this magnitude! Plus, who would take care of her?"

"You're her only family, Cid," said Braska. "If, in three months time she's still in Bevelle, you find her and take her with you. If not, then know that she will contact you to tell you she's all right. I taught her how."

Cid placed his head in his hands again and let the tears fall from his eyes. Tears of remorse for his sister's death, tears of empathy for what his niece would have to endure, and tears of hatred for the monster that has done this to his family fell from his tired eyes. "Why does it have to be this way? Why does Spira have to exist in a cycle of death? Why can't _Sin _just die and stay that way?"

"Yevon teaches that _Sin _is a product of the wrongfulness of machina and how people us them."

"That's a load of bull," grunted Cid. "You don't actually believe that, do you?"

"Not a wink. Jecht, my older guardian, claims that he is from the past. A thousand years in the past, to be precise. He has some insight into this matter unlike any other person on Spira."

"Heh," grunted Cid, unbelieving. "Like what?"

"Jecht has told me that the ancient city states of Zanarkand and Bevelle were preparing for war against each other. As you know, _Sin _makes berth at the ruins of Zanarkand, and Bevelle still relies heavily on the ancient machina that make up the city." Braska paused. "Yevon was a summoner, as was his daughter Yunalesca, of whom I am a direct descendant. Yunalesca became the first High Summoner in the first year of the age of _Sin. _In history, the city of machina, Bevelle, defeated the city of summoners, Zanrkand. After being a summoner and coming in contact with _Sin_, I have come to notice that _Sin _is more like a summons creature than a fiend."

"Do you think it's the High Summoner that defeated the monster the last time who is summoning it again?" asked Cid. Even though he was an Al Bhed apart from Yevon society, he knew much about the topic of summoners.

Braska shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It's a more powerful and evil force than any human could muster, or one would think."

"Do your guardians know what lies ahead once you reach Zanarkand?"

Braska shook his head. "Auron knows that I'll die when I become High Summoner, but Jecht doesn't."

"When are you going to tell him?" asked Cid.

"When he asks," said Braska bluntly. Standing up, he began to walk a familiar hall. "I'm going to tell the helmsman to make a course back to Macalania. I have yet to gain the ability to summon Shiva, which I need before I can proceed onto the Calm Lands."

Waiting for Braska to go talk to the helmsman and come back, an idea came into Cid's head. When Braska reentered the room, Cid said, "Mitsuki and the kids are onboard with us. Maybe you should spend some time with your family before heading out. You'll never get the chance again."

"That's a great idea," yawned Braska. "First thing in the morning I'll meet Mitsuki and Niisa. Wait, you said kids, when did you have another?"

"About two years after you and Sara moved to Bevelle," said Cid. "Her name is Rikku, and she's one hell of a little brat. Smarter than most of us, but real cheeky about it."

"Hmm, Yuna will love to hear that she has a girl cousin. She can't remember Niisa, of course, but it would make her happy."

"In the morning then?" asked Cid?

"In the morning," confirmed Braska with a nod. Soon after Braska had walked into the room where Jecht and Auron were and fell asleep between them on a dry fishing net.

XVI

990 S.A.

"Argh!" shouted Jecht, cutting the head off of one last fiend. "Do they not stop coming in this accursed field?" Running forward to attack an oncoming drake, Jecht sliced down hard with a speed the drake couldn't match. "Why couldn't we have just caught one of them bird things?"

"Do you know how hard chocobos are to catch?" asked Auron, cracking the shell of another fiend with his heavy sword. "There'd be no point. All we'd be doing is chasing chocobos about this place."

In a flurry of ice from Braska's new aeon, the Shiva disappeared and all of the fiends died. "There, now we have a bit of piece until we reach Mt. Gagazet."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" panted Jecht, reaching for something out of his bag. "Now, don't you think it's the time to make another one of these things?"

"What I don't get Jecht," said Auron, thrusting his right arm back inside his jacket, "Is that you make them and then just leave them anywhere."

"I don't know," said Jecht, placing the sphere recording device on the ground in front of the group. It started to record while they were talking, much like the other ones. "If my boy is in the future somewhere, he might find one of these and have a reminder of his old man."

"Huh," said Braska. "That makes sense. I should make one just for Yuna then."

"Do it on Gagazet," said Auron, walking away from the group towards the entrance to the Gagazet trails. "We should get prepared down here, where it's warm. The trails on Mt. Gagazet are harsh, or so I've heard, and we'll have no help from the Ronso."

"The Ronso?" asked Jecht, letting the thing still record. "What are Ronso?"

"The race that live on the mountain," answered Braska. "They are a furry race, making them look more like dogs with two legs than men. But, they also have a horn in the middle of their heads, unlike dogs. You'll have a better understanding of what they are when you see them."

"Why can't we just go around Mt. Gagazet?" asked Jecht.

"The mountain is too large, and directly on the other side of the mountain is Zanarkand," said Auron. "Or, at least that's what the map says."

"Huh," said Jecht, gulping in air as he began to tread on a steep, snowy trail. "That map sure has come in handy."

***

"You were right about the Ronso," said Jecht, "They sure didn't help us. Had their heads up their butts too much to even notice us."

"Oh, come now," said Braska. "That Kimarhi fellow wasn't all that bad."

"Of course not," said Auron, "He's a runt with his horn cut off. He has to be nice or he would probably get killed."

Sighing, Braska asked Jecht, "Do you have one of those recording spheres handy?"

"Here you go," said Jecht, giving it to Braska. "All you do is press the little button on the bottom and then look at it when you're talking."

"Okay then," said Braska, pushing the button. "Hello Yuna …."

***

Jecht was the first to reach the top of the mountain. Behind him, still inside the cave, was Braska being helped along by Auron. "C'mon Braska!" shouted Jecht, his voice echoing throughout the cave. "Once you reach outside it gets warmer and we can rest!"

"Wait," said Braska, collapsing onto the smooth limestone of the cave. "It's too calm. There's something waiting for us up there. We have to rest now, and then meet it head on." Taking his staff, Braska raised it above their heads and a white light engulfed them all, healing their wounds and fatigue. "There," said Braska, "Everyone feeling up to a big fight?"

Jecht said, "Sure," and Auron only shrugged.

XVII

990 S.A.

"So," said Jecht, descending Mt. Gagazet on the Zanarkand side, "This is Zanarkand." On this side there was no snow, and even less life. Everything was the same color. The once glorious buildings of a metropolis were now reduced to mounds of rubble that were almost indistinguishable from the earth they were built upon. Jecht felt a tear come to his eye when he witnessed the disarray his home had fallen into since he had last seen it. Not only that it was a miles wide heap of rubble, but it was the home of a monster that had been plaguing the continent of Spira for about a millennium.

"Aye," said Auron. "C'mon Jecht, we have to keep going. We can't get killed by fiends here, so close to the end."

After a few hours of climbing down the steep slopes of Mt. Gagazet's north face, Jecht noticed, "There's nothing here? Why is that?"

"Not on the mountain," said Braska, nodding to an extensive concrete bridge. "See there? There's machina, fiends, and dead soldiers."

"My type of fun," said Auron, slipping his right arm out of his jacket and gripping his overlarge katana with both hands. Raising the sword high above his head Auron ran into the crowd of fiends.

Sighing, Jecht said, "Wow, that guy's a special type of crazy."

"Yep," said Braska, waving his staff around in a summoning. Out of the sky appeared Bahamut and Braska climbed onto its back. "Well," he shouted to Jecht, "Aren't you coming! We're so close to the end, can't you taste it?"

Contemplating what Braska had just said, Jecht took in a great breath of air. The city of Zanarkand may have looked different, but it still had the wonderful scent of the northern sea. Taking his sword out, he ran forward and hacked down any fiends that got past Auron and Braska's Bahamut. For hours it seemed they hacked away a path through to Zanarkand proper. That's when Jecht saw what made his heart skip a beat.

Right in front of him was the blitzball stadium, home of his team, the Zanarkand Abes. The stadium was in ruins just like the rest of the city. However, the two gladiator statues at the front were still intact and the doors were open. In this area there were no fiends, possibly out of reverence. Jecht found the whole scene eerie.

"Braska, where do we go now?" Jecht asked, watching Auron approach the front doors of the old stadium.

A ghost of an old man appeared at the entrance of the stadium. Answering their question, he said, "Through the stadium is the temple of Yevon Zanarkand. There you shall receive the Final Aeon to defeat _Sin_. The Lady Yunalesca awaits."

"Oh," said Jecht, gulping a deep breath of air. He did not totally believe in ghosts, but the dead soldiers he fought along his journey were enough to convince him of life after death. When he entered the stadium he felt a presence of anger. There were ghosts of people he knew everywhere angry that he could live and not have to experience the horror that they did. The ghosts of his past must have had to live through a tremendous horror: the floor they were walking on through the old stadium was the broken supports for the ball of water needed in blitzball matches.

All over the place they kept seeing previous summoners and their guardians. One summoner they could pick out was Lord Ohalland. Falling behind because he was wary of the ghosts that Braska and Auron either didn't notice or didn't care about, Jecht saw the two walk through another portal. Running to catch up, he nearly ran into Auron, who was standing agape. "What is it? Why did you stop?"

"I don't know, I just have a heavy feeling on my heart. Like, something bad is going to happen."

"Oh, get over it you two," said Braska, walking forward. "We're so close to our goal. Let us stop worrying about people who have been dead for a thousand years and the people we have to save in the present."

"Yes sir," the two guardians said in unison.

They walked in a steadfast march that was now only fuelled by the knowledge that with the next step they could save the world. The first to reach the door to the temple was Braska. Stopping Braska before he entered the temple, Jecht said, "You don't have to do this."

"Thank you for your concern Jecht," said Braska. "But if I don't do this, then who else will? We've heard about other summoners taking this pilgrimage, but we haven't seen them."

"Well, there's no sense in trying to change your mind," said Jecht, "I've said my piece."

"But I haven't!" burst out Auron. Before now, he was so sure in what he had to do. Though, ever since they came to Zanarkand, Auron had begun to doubt himself. Braska, I don't want you to die!"

"I must lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira, if only for ten years."

Ashamed, Auron shut his mouth and stared at his feet. After a pause, Jecht said, "Trials here too?"

"It's what's to be expected," chortled Braska.

"Gimme a break. I was expecting, y'know, parades and fireworks!"

Braska smiled at how Jecht still had the ability to lighten the situation. "When I defeat _Sin _then you can ask for them."

Looking to each other for strength, the three companions entered the temple. Sighing, Braska studied the room, he proceeded to step on some lighted up panels, and soon there was a staircase to a lower level that opened up on the middle of the floor. Proceeding with another set of light panel tests, the fruits of their labors was the hole in the floor to light up on all sides.

Every man groaned inwardly when they saw yet another keeper that they had to defeat to prove their strength. Defeating the Spectral Keeper took them a long time, but they couldn't lose after having undertaking such a huge journey. They could not die just before they reached the finish line.

Upon defeat, the hole in the floor turned into a lift that went to another, lower level. The next room was a brightly lit, ovular room. At their feet was the aeon statue, just as in all of the other temples. Looking at the statue that rested below his feet Braska breathed, "There's something wrong. There's no fayth in this statue."

"What do you mean?" asked Auron.

Behind them came the deep and resonating voice of a woman. "That statue has not housed the soul of Lord Zaon for some time."

"Yunalesca," said Braska, greeted by confusion from both Auron and Jecht.

"Lord Zaon was the first Final Aeon. His soul has long since disappeared and his fayth can no longer be used as the Final Aeon."

"What?" shouted Jecht. "No Final Aeon?"

"Do not worry," said Yunalesca, her voice ancient and foreboding. "I can still provide you the means to summon the Final Aeon."

"Who are you?" asked Jecht, unawares that Auron and Braska were kneeling.

Smiling with ancient wisdom, the woman answered, "I am Yunalesca, daughter of Yu Yevon."

Auron raised his head in confusion. "Didn't you die hundreds of years ago?"

"Yes I did," said Yunalesca in an ethereal way, "But I stayed unsent to guide summoners on their journey to defeat _Sin._"

"How did you keep your body and not turn into a fiend?" asked Auron, now on his feet.

"Simply because I wanted to, young one."

Standing graciously, Braska said, "I am the summoner of this group and I require your assistance in summoning the Final Aeon."

"Are you ready for what you must do?" asked the woman, her voice echoing in the void.

"Yes, I am," said Braska, bowing his head again.

"Then choose," she said, almost floating from the ground. She spread her hand out in the direction of Jecht and Auron.

"Choose what?" asked Jecht, severely confused at this point.

"Which one of your guardians will become your Final Aeon, to defeat the creature, until it shall rise again?"

Jecht was still confused, while Auron was growing angry. "What do you mean 'choose'? What creature are you talking about?"

"The creature," she said in a voice as cold as ice, "That you call _Sin._"

Swallowing his pride, Jecht stepped forward. "I'm not getting any younger, I should do something useful with my life." He also wanted Auron to live for as long as he could, being as young as he was. Auron reminded him of his son, if only fleetingly.

"You work this out amongst yourselves and tell me when you're ready," she said, retreating back into her room behind the huge door she had come out of.

"Braska, Jecht," exclaimed Auron, "You will both die from this! Why do you not see that this is a lost cause! _Sin _will only appear again in ten years."

"But there's always the chance that it won't," noted Braska, standing by the steps.

"Auron," said Jecht, looking to his young friend. "I need you to do something for me."

"What, Jecht?"

"I need you to take care of my boy. He's such a crybaby, he needs someone to … hold his hand, y'know. Can you do that for me?"

"But, that's impossible," exclaimed Auron. "How am I supposed to get to your Zanarkand?"

"If there's a way to get here from there, there's a way back," grinned Jecht. "You'll find a way."

"I'll take care of your son," said Auron. "I'll guard him with my life."

Nodding in recognition that the two had settled on an agreement, Braska called out to Yunalesca. When she came out of her doors again, Braska said, "I choose my guardian, Jecht." Indicating Jecht with his hand, Braska added, "I choose Jecht as my Final Aeon."

"As you wish," said Yunalesca, as calm as day. With one swoop of her hand Jecht disappeared and Braska was left alone with only Auron.

"What do we do now?" asked Braska, no emotion present in his voice.

"To the Calm Lands," said Yunalesca, disappearing behind her doors once again.

"Well," said Braska, turning to Auron. "Care to be my guardian for just a short time longer?"

***

A day was all it took for the two to clamber over Mt. Gagazet to get to the Calm Lands. Almost every battle with _Sin _was fought here, and another was about to ensue. Braska sat on the grass, enjoying the breeze. Auron was fidgeting near him, unable to stay still.

"Auron, would you please stand still? You're distracting me."

"Sorry, Braska," said Auron, sitting down in a cross-legged fashion.

"Why are you still here?"

"I'm your guardian to the end." Feeling a rumbling in the ground, Auron shot to his feet. "It's here!"

Braska stood up slowly. When he stood up straight, he was face to face with the monster that had destroyed two of his families. "Auron, I want you to leave."

"But why—"

"I said leave! Go up Gagazet! Now Auron!"

Always obedient, Auron and nodded and ran towards the path that led up Gagazet. Braska was left alone to defeat _Sin _by himself.

Gulping air in, gaining strength for what he had to do, Braska whispered, "I'm so sorry Yuna." Raising his staff above his head, he felt his life force drain away into Jecht's power as the Final Aeon. Braska never had the chance to witness his friend as an aeon before he died. In his summoning, his life force was so drained that he sent himself to the farplane, mostly because that's where he wanted to go. He could now be with his dear Sara forever.

***

Jecht could not understand what was happening to him as he flew through the air. _Sin_, using some sort of gravity attack, sucked Jecht in his Final Aeon form into some other universe that only belonged to the monster. Once inside, Jecht saw a man on a platform. Nodding to Jecht, he transformed into a monster that was Jecht's size. Jecht now realized that he had become a monster like this man had.

Anger welling up inside him like he never before felt, he lashed out at this monster. Jecht was angry for his wife dying a thousand years ago, his son disappearing in the annals of time, his friends dying for a corrupt system to glorify a sociopath that should have died a thousand years ago. Soon, all of his fury dissipated, and he was alone. He was now _Sin_, the monster that destroyed Spira every ten years. He felt himself slip into a darkness, but he kept pushing to keep from being totally sucked in.

***

_Sin _was gone and all of Spira was due to be in celebration. Angry for what his friends had to endure for the safety of the continent, Auron made his way back to Zanarkand. He had it in his head to talk to Yunalesca about the whole ordeal.

Coming into her chambers, she was not surprised to see him. "Oh, young guardian, why are you back? Your summoner has defeated _Sin, _why do you seek me?"

"What's the sense in all of this! Did they die for nothing? This happens every ten years, and ever ten years there's someone who has to die! When will it all end?"

"It will never end," she said simply.

Auron's mouth was agape. "But, Yevon teaches us that if we are good and do no wrong then we can get rid of _Sin! _Is this all a lie?"

"Spira exists in a spiral of death, and has for a thousand years. _Sin _will never be defeated, and it will continue to be resummoned every decade."

"Then the pilgrimage and the teachings are all a load of crap! Is that it?"

The unsent woman laughed, pyreflies flying around her in a great mass. "The teachings and the pilgrimage give the people hope, and the Calm gives them peace until the next time the monster will rise. It is a never ending cycle. Without hope, _Sin _would swallow up Spira, and all of the people along with it."

"So, there's no end to it then?" shouted Auron, tears streaming down his cheeks. "My friend died for this useless cycle that does no one any good?"

"He died to give them hope, and that is all that the people of Spira have."

"No!" shouted Auron, raising his sword. Running towards Yunalesca, he brought his sword down as hard as he could on her, but to no avail. Before he hit her, she threw her arm in her face. With a powerful and precise energy whip she sliced through his right eye and dislocated his brain from his spine. Auron was dead in an instant.

Uncaring of what she had just done, Yunalesca left Auron's dead body on her floor and walked away, leaving him to turn into a fiend. Though, Auron was a stronger person than that.

Auron pushed himself heavily from the ground in Yunalesca's chamber. He was sure that the blow she had given him would have killed him. However, he was standing, and that to him was evidence enough that he was alive. From where Yunalesca had hit him he could no longer see, though.

Getting up, he remembered the promise he made to Braska on Mt. Gagazet. "I have to go find Yuna, take care of her." As he walked, he felt even more tired than before, but he did not want to stop. The tired he felt was as though he wanted to sleep but couldn't for some reason. He didn't feel listless in his muscles, just his eyes. But, Auron felt as though he could not sleep until he found Yuna.

Having spent almost a day to get to Zanarkand from the Ronso base on Mt. Gagazet, Auron found it surprising that he could get there in only about twelve hours. He did not notice that none of the fiends attacked him on his way over Gagazet. He wasn't even fazed by the snow, unlike last time. Feeling exhausted by the time he was back at the Ronso base, Auron collapsed in the snow.

Only one Ronso noticed him, all of the others ignored him. It was the runt with the sawed off horn they were talking to the day before. "Oh, Kimarhi," said Auron, placing a tired hand on the Ronso's shoulder. "Why do none of the other Ronsos notice me?"

"They do not heed you because Auron is dead," said Kimarhi plainly.

Auron only laughed slightly. He felt as though he was losing oxygen to his brain because of the height. "Well, then if I'm dead, can you please find Braska's daughter for me? She's a seven year old girl named Yuna living in Bevelle. Please, can you find her and take her somewhere safe?"

"Yes, Auron," said Kimarhi, laying Auron's head softly in the snow. Looking up, as many other Ronso did, he became alarmed and ran for the Calm Lands' trail.

"Oh, what is it?" asked Auron, opening his eyes. Right above him was _Sin_, but he was so tired that he didn't care. However, this _Sin _seemed different than the other one. "Oh, Jecht is that you?"

Inside his head, Auron heard Jecht's voice. _"I thought you were dead."_

"The Ronso said I was, so I guess I am," smiled Auron.

_"Are you ready to go to Zanarkand?" _asked Jecht, his soul within the fleeting body of _Sin._

"Sure," said Auron, still staring at the grotesque fish creature that his friend had become.

_"Remember, he's a little kid with blonde hair, and he loves blitzball."_

***

10 B.A.

Auron was just getting used to his new body and his new environment of Zanarkand when he found Tidus. The boy was playing by the docks with another boy, a little older than he. They were passing the ball between each other, sometimes making a move, or a miss, and then they would start to squabble. Auron chuckled at how the sport hadn't changed in a thousand years. When the younger boy kicked the ball astray, the other said, "Stop doing that Tidus! Now you have to go get it."

"It's not like you'd do any better, Shuyin!" said the younger, following the ball. It evidently rolled near Auron, who Tidus squinted against the sun to see.

"Learn that from your dad?"

The boy was alarmed by the strange man in outlandish clothes. Wiping his nose on his sleeve, he said, "That no good idiot? That's all he left me, that stupid move I can't even do."

Picking up the blitzball, Auron kneeled next to Tidus and gave it to him. "You don't seem to like your dad that much."

"He left me and Mom months ago! Never said no goodbye or nothin'!"

"Well," said Auron, ruffling the little boy's hair. "Was your dad's name Jecht?"

"Yeah," said the boy, sniffling a runny nose. "How'd you know that?"

"Because," said Auron, "Your dad told me to come and take care of you."

"I don't believe you," said the young boy quickly.

"Well, you will in a while, because I intend to keep my promise to your dad."

***

Wakka, Chappu, and Lulu stood on the shore, watching a boat dock. Besaid was such a small island that boats didn't dock there much. The most interesting part about the boat was the passengers: a blue Ronso, the likes of which the children had never seen, and a little girl in a purple kimono. Her hand looked so tiny in the Ronso's that Chappu just couldn't help notice and giggled.

While Lulu lectured Chappu on being kind, Wakka, Chappu's older brother who was thirteen, cam up to the little girl. "Hello there, I'm Wakka," he said, extending his hand. When she took it, he asked her, "What's your name?"

"Yuna," she said shyly, grabbing the Ronso's hand again. "And this is Kimarhi."

"Wow," said Chappu, "What are you?" The little boy looked up curiously.

"A Ronso," said Kimarhi in a quiet growl.

"Where are you from?" asked Lulu, holding her moogle doll by its foot.

"Bevelle," smiled Yuna. "And Kimarhi is from gaga … um … gaga …."

"Gagazet," finished Kimarhi.

"Oh, cool," said Wakka. "Let me be the first person to officially welcome you to the island of Besaid."

"Thank you!" piped Yuna. "I think I'm going to like it here a lot!"

"Let's go Yuna," said Kimarhi. "Now we go to the temple."

"Why?" asked Yuna, the three children watching them.

"Sir Auron wanted you to live at the temple here."

"No!" cried Yuna, hugging Kimarhi's leg. "No, don't leave me! Everyone leaves me!"

Touched by the child's helplessness, Kimarhi didn't argue with her. "Alright. Kimarhi won't leave Yuna."

"Never?" asked the little girl.

The Ronso shook his head. "No, never."

Al Bhed Dictionary: translation of Al Bhed into English

Y = A

T = B

K = C

P = D

A = E

V = F

L = G

R = H

E = I

X = J

G = K

M = L

S = M

H = N

U = O

B = P

Z = Q

N = R

C = S

D = T

I = U

J = V

F = W

Q = X

O = Y

W = Z

117


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